Proud Mummy Moment

Yesterday munchkin number 1 was on telly.

A little background; My eldest plays for a local girls football team (soccer to my stateside readers) Burnley Girls and Ladies. They are affiliated with the male professional team Burnley FC; who Dad has supported since he was knee high to a grasshopper! So when the professional team asked if the girls would like to play on 'The Turf' (the stadium's name) during the half time break, of course the answer was 'Hell Yeah!' When they came and asked if some of the girls would like to be player escorts, there were some very excited young ladies (Mum's and Dad's too but shhhh!). All this for a game that was going to be televised.

So it comes to the night of the game and it was snowing....in March snow and below zero temperatures....never the less in their shorts the girls were professional and cute and had huge smiles on their faces. Munchkins team even won their mini half time match! I am only a little gutted that me and munchkin 2 had to stay at home and only caught fleeting glances of the girls, I mean seriously it looked freezing. But I am so proud of all the girls from the club. It's just a shame the professional team didn't win.

Yes I was so stupidly proud that I paused the telly and took a photo!

And yes Burnley is cool enough to play Foo Fighters before the players come onto the pitch.

I'm not a football fan.....honest....ok maybe just a little....sometimes.....

Motivation: Day 12 On Top of the World

There is nothing quite like the feeling of standing on top of the world with the wind whistling past your ears, life's troubles far below you.

I had forgotten how good that feeling can be, until today.

The area I live is dominated by a magnificent hill (well nearly mountain except for a few measly meters). It stands watch over us, guards us, it even forecasts the weather for you!

"If you can see Pendle it's going to rain (take your brolly), if you can't it's already raining!"

I am luck to live on one side of this beautiful hill and work on the other. I am also ashamed to say that I have not walked up to the top in years, something I intend to rectify soon!

Anyway, I digress, today I took my girls walking on an easy walk up the 'Nic o Pendle'. We by no means got to the summit of Pendle, however my inspiration today came from those two little ladies. Their dogged determination to reach the crest of a little mound (not even really a little hill) we had chosen to scale was amazing. Just for the reward of getting to the top, nothing more!

We all have our goals in life, some huge and mountain like, others more like little mounds to overcome.  Our mantra today on our twenty minute 'hike' (Harriett's word not mine) was:

"One step at a time, we'll be at the top in no time!"

Keep taking those steps, keep aiming for the top and we will get there in no time ;-)





Weekend Wonders - Unexplained Absence

You may have noticed, you may not, that I have been somewhat absent around the blogsphere of late. I am truly sorry that I haven't had the time to read and comment as I usually do, I promise that I will catch up eventually!

I volunteer with a group that helps to look after our local park and make sure it is a fabulous place for people to use. Wednesday 20th June was not only my eldest daughters 8th birthday, it was also the 100 year anniversary of Marsden Park being opened to the public. As part of the Friends group I helped to organise a mass celebration for the centenary, which was yesterday. We had a brass band, traditional Lancashire clog dancers, sporting activities, magic shows, Punch and Judy shows, a travelling zoo, various stalls, along with the local nursery joining us with their annual garden party and a wonderful historic exhibition charting the history of the park right back to the 1600's when it was a private family estate.

On Friday we had rain of Biblical proportions with localised flooding. It had me awake all night wondering if we were even going to be able to continue with the event that we had all spent so much time on. Come Saturday morning the rain had stopped and following some adjustments with the site plan the event got under way, all be it a little delayed and a couple of activities down due to flooding problems. The rain that was fore casted for Saturday stayed away until just before the end of the event and more people came to support us than I could have hoped for. All in all a great day was had by all who attended, which made up for the stress of organising it!!

Follow this link to some great photos of the event, I was so busy I didn't have chance to take any myself!!

In short I should have some time spare now I am not sat up till the wee hours of the morning finalising the logistics for the event and will be able to get back to reading your lovely insights and commenting as usual, not to mention I have some serious writing to do!!!! First though, some sleep!!

For now I will leave you with some of my favourite parts of the park visit the Friends of Marsden Park Site if you are interested in the history.

The Sundial (taken by Harriett)

The Troll Bridge

The Wishing Gate (taken by Eleanor)

My Girls Favourite Place!!

Ranodm Thursdays - The return of homework!

You all know I have a huge blog crush on a fantastic blog Kicking Corners, she had me at fairies. Any way I digress. This lovely lady is taking a break to concentrate on writing, wish I had the will power but I'm just too nosey! In the meantime she has set homework :-/ I was never a fan at school, college or university. But hey ho, this sounds like fun, and seems like a great way to spend my random Thursday!

view original here

Here goes: First read this article done, now I just have to get the other half to read it!!!

Next, blog answering the name-thing let's see...

'What's in a name?' Hmmm, my brain wants to say nothing. At the end of the day I would still be me if I wasn't called Alison. Strawberries would still be sweet and juicy if somebody had called them heart berries. However, let me tell you the story of my youngest's arrival.

It was Christmas, Harriett (the oldest) decided it would be a good idea to ask Santa for a baby sister; boy does she regret that request now! Any how, we didn't think much of it at all. Until a few months later and the nursery staff questioned me one evening; did I have something to tell them? ermm, 'I don't think so, why?' They then produced a picture Harriett had drawn of mummy, daddy, harri and baby sister in mummy's tummy! 'Oh' was my reply, 'not that I know of.' Two weeks later we found out I was expecting! The usual conversations came over the next few months, girls and boys names were chosen. We even took Harriett to a 3D scan to see the imminent arrival on the telly, where it was confirmed a little lady was on the way. Grace Elizabeth it would be, until.....
A couple of weeks before she was due to arrive I sat bolt upright, all of a sudden and blurted out:

'This baby cannot be called Grace, she will not be full of grace.'

Hormonal panic set in, what were we going to call this little bundle when she arrived? Various ideas were bounced around, some returning time and time again like a rubber ball, being rejected and returning in the next discussion as a consideration. Finally, inspiration struck, why didn't we just ask Harriett? She asked for this little bundle, she knew before we knew, so why not?

'Ellie, I want to call her Ellie'

And so Eleanor, shortened to Ellie, arrived to complete our family (late, as is the family tradition!).

Call it mothers intuition but our little Ellie is no Grace, although she still holds on to it as her middle name. Our little lady has no fear and is often termed the 'honourary boy' of the family. The name 'Grace' conjours images of a sweet and innocent, well behaved little angel, rightly or wrongly! I am so glad that my subconscious kicked in to let me know we had made the wrong choice before she was born.

So what's in a name? Years of history, association, prejudice and emotion. We just can't separate the two, no matter how hard we may want to. Sometimes our heart rules over our brain!

Next, Alison, what's the meaning of my name? It has so many:
'of noble birth', cool!
'Honest', yup, to a fault!
'Sweet', so some say, occasionally.
'Son of all', well that one is a bit below the belt, comments like that could start a fight!
Then we get to the 'variation of Alice', you don't say!
This one I didn't know 'variation of Louise: battle famous', interesting...

Finally, answer a few questions; are the multiple choice??

1. What are you listening to right now? - My rock play list, it was appropriate to some proof reading I was doing for a friend!
2. Do you like your handwriting? - Only when I take the time to write neatly.
3. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? - I hope so, I always try to offer the traits I would like to see in a friend.
4. What’s your favourite breakfast? - Porridge with chocolate chips in (mmm now I'm hungry)
5. The first thing you notice about people is…  - I don't really know, sometimes hair style, mostly shoes.
6. In what way are you irrational? - Almost everything at that time of the month!
7. If you needed a kidney, who would be the first person willing to donate one to you? - My other half, and I for him.
8. Where’s the farthest you’ve been from home? - California, as a child and I can't wait to go back!
9. Scary movies or happy endings? - Happy endings, always.
10. What makes you feel young? - My kids, when they are not making me feel really old.
11. Do you believe everything happens for a reason? - I can't not believe that things happen for a reason, given how I met my husband (see yesterdays post).
12. What’s something you aren’t? - Confident in my own abilities.
13. If you had next Monday off from all responsibilities and expectations, what would you do? - Write!!
14. Do you always smile for pictures? - No, I don't particularly like how it makes my face look.
15. What would you be willing to literally fight for? - My children's well being and happiness (the joke in our family is that perspective boyfriends will have to get through me not Dad!)
16. What is your all-time favourite joke? - Why did the feather cross the road? To get to the chicken! (courtesy of Harriett)
17. Wonderland or Oz? - Wonderland (it has to be really given the meaning of my name!)
18. What’s the story of your first kiss? - see yesterdays post.
19. How do you explain déjà vu? - Things I have dreamed before they happen.
20. What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? - No boiler in the middle of winter and having to wear gloves and bobble hats in bed!

Wow, that is an awful lot of me! Are you all bored yet?? If you are interested in how others have done with their homework, head over to Kicking Corners and have a peek in the comments, follow the links of all the teachers pets who have already put their links there. And that is precisely where I am off. Laters xx