And it rained...

... and it rained and it rained. In amongst the tempest between the flashes of lightning and the rolls of thunder there was a moment's respite. And in that moment there was the most beautiful rainbow, a double one, right across the sky. It is a sight that never fails to gladden my heart.

It amazes me that in the middle of horrible times there is always a little ray of light. For me, in this awful week, it has been to see how much the people I used to work with have pulled together. Friends have all been there for each other with love, support and understanding. Throughout the week they have carried on working so hard and so professionally to bring lives into the world and help to create miracles every day for other people. Midwives are truly amazing people and deserve so much respect from each and every one of us.

Five smiles:

1. Rainbows
2. Midwives everywhere
3. New life
4. Hugs
5. Stillness

Cheery smiles, D x

Hannah the Beautiful

Hannah was a bundle of love and laughter wrapped in a dazzling smile. She was gentle, intelligent and funny - very funny, indeed. When I first met her she was a student midwife just entering her final year of training and yet I felt as though I had known her much longer. She came to the ward and learnt from everyone and taught us all, too - she had a harsh word for no one and a kind hug for everyone. She was a very special person.

As she grew in her skills and confidence and came through her graduation, it was clear to everyone that she shone in her love of her job. Nothing was too much trouble and she was always the first to lend a hand. Once graduated, she lost none of her gentleness and respect for life, if anything it seemed to grow. She was a wonderful young lady full of vibrant life and love.

Today her colleagues and I found out that the shining star had been turned out. She shall be missed so much by all of us who knew her, she will always be Hannah the Beautiful in spirit as she was in person.

May you rest in peace, Hannah, it was an honour to have known you and shared your light xxx

And breathe...

Well, I did it. I went back into the classroom and I loved it. Mr Mentor controls the supply teaching at the school I went to in a dim and distant past. He knows what I'm good at and gave me classes in my own subjects - French and German - hurrah! And the students were fabulous, I'm not saying that they always will be but for the last week they were - I'll take that.

This Friday was 'The Big Sleepover'; the Girl and the Boy had a friend to stay for the night to avoid any of the issues that arise with just the one child having someone to play with. The Girls, as they shall be known, were very good and spent most of the evening tickling His Lairdship or tucked away in their bedroom dancing and goodness knows what else! The Boys were also very good and hid away from civilisation in the bedroom playing with lego and other things that ten year old boys do... So far so good. Supper was pizza and garlic bread, not home-made as I had a long day at work, which disappeared within minutes. More playing ensued, marvellous.

Then came Bedtime. The Girls are younger and were off to sleep before 9.30pm - excellent. The Boys... oh the Boys... Suffice to say that His Lairdship and I were tucked up in bed and sleeping before they settled down at, they think, about 1.30am. And then the Girls woke everyone up for breakfast at 8.00am.

How we were all so cheerful I have no idea - but it worked!

Five cheery smiles for you:

1. It is sunny again
2. My friend running in and finishing the London Marathon
3. Sleepovers for the Clan
4. Children being children
5. Inferno pizza...

Cheery smiles, D x

Back to work...

Good evening, it's time for another one of my night-time rambles... The Boy and the Girl went back to school today - hurrah! Although the Easter break has been wonderful and we have all relaxed together, it was time to get back to normality. And, sad to say, I am included in that - oh no! My two months off have come to an end and I go back to work tomorrow. Well, I say 'back' but it's actually back to a job that I love doing but have not done for six years... I'm not sure if I'm excited or nervous or what! I am looking forward to it. I think. No, I know I am; it's not an easy job by any means but I do enjoy it - I shall let you know how it goes.

On a less scary note, my students have come back today as well and I have been overjoyed to see them. It's not until I have time off that I realise just how much I enjoy tutoring them and helping them through the bits of language that they find difficult. It also means that I get to speak my languages again and that never grows old...

Despite the downpours and howling gales of this morning, I managed to get some of my washing dry on the line this afternoon - still one of my absolutely favourite things to do! It is the essence of spring and summer for me.

Five smiles for today:

1. The Clan going back to school
2. Me going back to work (gulp)
3. Washing smelling so fresh
4. A goldcrest in the garden
5. Planning the Girl's birthday party

Cheery, if somewhat nervous, smiles D x

Nearly there...

It's Friday again and, like most people, I love Fridays! There are lots of reasons for this - His Lairdship comes home after a week at work, the children are more relaxed, plans are made... The best thing for me though, is that since I spent four years working an awful lot of weekends, I really appreciate the time with my gorgeous family and friends.

The weekends which I so often took for granted were the ones where we didn't do much. The ones where we just chilled, did a bit of this, a bit of that and generally enjoyed each other's company. It is only now that I am beginning to get an inkling of how precious this is, this time to be ourselves. This is when we learn to love each other even more, to appreciate all the different facets of our personalities, even the ones that we are not so proud of, and to unearth more of our talents. There is very little pretence in a young family, tired Boy and Girl are easily discerned, as is tired Lairdship. Tired Daisyship is, of course, very difficult to spot... But the joyful moments when we laugh together or just cuddle up together with a movie and popcorn are also there; I sometimes forget to look for those. As my report so often said, 'Must try harder'!

Un-busy weekends - very precious commodity when you think about it.

Five smiles for this weekend:

1. It is the weekend
2. Car boot sales
3. Undiscovered talents
4. Invitations
5. Just be-ing

Cheery smiles, D x

Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny...

The Clan went out for a curry yesterday, a very grown-up affair. The Boy chose a prawn dish, His Lairdship chose chicken and I chose vegetable. After the (alleged) grown ups had eaten their fill, the Boy proceeded to mop up every last drop of sauce with every last crumb of his naan! Next time, we may have to order more... His favourite part of the meal was when the hot towels came at the end - accompanied by a lolly for him. Such simple things bring such great happiness.

To cap it all, his loose tooth came out in the restaurant, great leaping things! He had been fiddling with it all week and estimates from his parents varied as to when it was most likely to come out, suffice to say his mother won... So, after carefully putting it under his pillow in a hand-crafted envelope, it was off to sleep. And this morning? Both the Tooth Bunny and the Easter Fairy had visited - money and chocolate; could a Boy wish for more?

Then he was off with His Lairdship and the Marvellous Mr M to the world's most enormous model shop to buy a new model plane while the Marvellous Mrs M and I wrestled with the new curtains for the conservatory. This is round two of curtain wars, sometimes my creativity runs away with me and I get strange ideas - like patchwork curtains for the largest space in the house... Fortunately, my best friend understands these moments and is willing to come and help me with her technical expertise. Today we hit the major problem of the ring system we had planned not working. At all. However, about three years ago I had bought some rufflette tape in a closing down sale and, when I found it in my stash, it was the right length - woohoo! So the curtains are now hanging in their rightful place and waiting to be hemmed, hurrah!

Five extra smiley things for today:

1. The curtains are up!
2. The Marvellous M's
3. The Tenacious D video for Tribute
4. Tooth Bunnies and Easter Fairies everywhere
5. Long weekends with the Clan

Merry Easter from the whole Clan!

Cheery smiles, D x

Little Big Girl

The Girl has gone off to her first ever Brownie camp today. She will be away throughout the Easter weekend and whilst I am exceptionally proud of her and know that she will have more fun than she thinks possible with her friends - I miss her. The Girl chatters almost incessantly, not nonsensically because she is a bright little thing, as she looks at the world in her own sweet way and smiles. So, after a last-minute bakeathon of cupcakes, it was off to the neighbouring village for the camp where we met her friends and leaders, looked around and hugged her tight before leaving. Our Little Big Girl.

Thank goodness for the Marvellous Ms - we went round for tea and hot cross buns, some home-made, some from the Co-op - all delicious! Then it was home for a Thursday Surprise for tea, to the uninitiated that's whatever is left in the fridge or pantry before the weekend shopping trip, and Mythbusters with the Boy and His Lairdship... All-in-all a good evening at the end of a sunny day.

Five smiles for today:

1. The Girl's first camp
2. The Boy's helpfulness...
3. Lots of home-made goodies
4. The Marvellous Ms :o)
5. His Lairdship at home for an extra day again this week

Enjoy your Easter break wherever you may be.

Cheery smiles, D x

A glorious day!

Don't you just love it when you have one of those amazing days where everything seems to just flow and be as easy as pie? I had one of those today...

A simple arrangement to meet up with the Boy's new school friend and his family at a nearby lake mid-morning and then have a picnic together. Nothing fancy, nothing to pay for, just a couple of hours in the park. Well, it turns out that the Boy and his friend have been carved from the same mould, as have the Girl and his younger sister. And as for Mrs B and I, we could both talk for England about almost anything. The sun shone, the weather was kind and we strolled as the children played, we ate lunch and the children played, we strolled some more and the children played... How fabulous! Oh, I nearly forgot, His Lairdship was with us, too! A perfect day in so many ways.

And yesterday His Lairdship and the Boy worked like Trojans to almost finish the decking in the garden, it was only running out of screws that stopped progress - I do think it was the chance to use the power tools that kept the Boy quite so engrossed, but I'll take that! And the Girl and I re-arranged her bedroom completely before sorting through everything - we've also chosen the colour of paint for the not too distant future, very exciting times...

Five lovely smiley smiles:

1. Five hours in the park
2. Picnics - always a pleasure
3. Extra days with His Lairdship
4. Hot chocolate
5. Playing with willow withies

Cheery smiles, D x

Holidays - hurrah!

Good evening, things have been a bit rushed at Clan HQ for a while, please accept my most sincere apologies for not having written too much lately - I shall try to remedy that!

In all this glorious weather, the Girl has been poorly so I have been playing nursemaid to her. As this involves many cuddles and interesting films, it is not too much of a hardship. The fact that I may have contracted her bug is not quite so cheering, it seems that the holidays and lie-ins have arrived just in the nick of time...

Look what the Girl has made while she has been unwell; she is so clever.

His Lairdship has been using up some of his holiday allowance recently which is fantastic. It also means that the fence that I received for Mother's Day is now accompanied by some half-finished decking, too. At this rate I could have a garden for Easter! He is so clever - most of the materials are up-cycled and his ingenuity seems limitless... He's even stopped getting a slightly worried look when I suggest some very small modifications, the latest being a system for hanging pots and utensils next to where the barbecue will live...

On top of all this he also cooked the most delicious supper today of slow-roasted pork and lots of veggies. How fortunate am I?

Five smiles for today:

1. Knitting in the garden
2. Extra days with His Lairdship
3. No school runs...
4. Someone else cooking for the Clan
5. Chatting over the fence

Cheery smiles, D x