Spring break zoo trip

I took my little monkeys to the zoo this week. We have had a hectic and busy first few months of the year. This has been the first week we have been able to chill and spend quality time together.

Luke and Alexander had a fab time at the zoo and it was a nice treat for me to spoil them. They were on their best behaviour. Luke got a bit exhausted towards the end. He was diagnosed with ASD last week. I will write an individual post on this when we receive his full report and I have fully processed how this will change our future.

Today we have cleaned and made banana bread, as the rain has returned. We were lucky to have the sun shining brightly over the easter weekend. We filled our time with gardening, sun bathing, and time at the beach. I have only had to do snipits of work here and there, which is nice. I am coming to the end of my Bachelors degree now, so will have lots of work ahead to complete my final assignments.

Luke decided on whole sea bass and mussels for dinner so I am off to cook for them now!

Big love!

Please stop growing!

My little chickens started back at school this week. There is a quiet in the house that I haven’t heard in a while. There is no giggling, un-ending snack requests, toys everywhere, muddy shoes by the back door where they have been in and out all day. It’s sad, but I know that they are glad to be back with their friends. They have both had fantastic first days in new classes.

Luke is moving up to key-stage two and entering year three. I think this will be good for him. He has autism and loud, unorganized mix class he was in last year was not great for him. I am looking forward to seeing him build on all the amazing skills he has learned already. I am seeing more of his little personality bloom each day, he is such a character.

Alexander, my eldest has moved up to Highschool. His little tie is so cute. He was so proud when he came down smartly dressed yester morning. He kept saying how he was so excited, but as I drove him to the bus stop he told me “mum, I’m just nervous now”. I told him that he would have a great day and that it was okay to be nervous. As we pulled up, I saw all his friends at the stop, I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I gave him a quick hug and off he went. I did sit for a bit while he began to mingle, at that point I knew he would be fine.

 I can’t quite believe that this day has come so soon. It seems like only yesterday that I was taking him to pre-school. He was always confident and actually cried when I picked him up instead of when I dropped him off. I am incredibly proud of how this little boy has become such a smart, confident and kind young man.

The days of nappies and breast feeding seem like a distant memory to me now. I think if things in my life didn’t go the way they did, I would have loved another baby. But as I look back on the last 12 years, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have grown and learned so much. Life as a teenage mum was friggin hard, but I am so, so proud of where we are now and how far we have come. I am so thankful to my family for helping raise Alexander and shaping his kind heart. You can plan your life exactly how you want it to be, but it will never take the road that you planned. Life isn’t a straight road, it’s a winding road with twists, turns and dead ends. But, you only know it’s a dead end when you’ve walked it, and you can give up or you can turn around and keep going. Always, remember to stop and enjoy the walk, because before you know it you’ve reached the end of your journey.

Back to school

The end of the summer holidays is always bitter sweet. Fresh new school uniforms, alarms set after being off for six weeks, shiny new black shoes waiting by the door. There is a certain excitement crossed with nervousness when you start a new school year. This year, in our family, it’s a little more as Alexander is headed to senior school! I can’t quite believe that he is as old as he is.

We have had a laid back, relaxing summer hols. Unfortunately, we were unable to get away for a vacation, but we enjoyed it none the less. The final main event was the LLanwrst Show. It was reminiscent of the Harvest Home show that we enjoyed so much in our old village in England. We all had a fabulous time, but Millie was the star of the show!

We entered Millie into the dog show and she was a smash hit! First, she won third place as child’s best friend. The boys took her around the show ring and had to answer questions about her and show how well they could handle her. As little Mil is so laid back she just took it all in her stride. Second, I entered her into the best cross breed category and she won first place! No one had even heard of a Norfapoo! I think that’s part of what makes her so special. Finally, the manged to win the main prize over all, best in show. She came away with three big rosettes and a silver cup to display for the year!

So, as we savour the last weekend of the holidays, we will look back fondly at the memories we made over the past six weeks. We have been blessed with an incredibly sunny day today and we intend to make the most of it. One last swim in the pool, a BBQ and sleeping in the tent in the garden!

We have loads of exciting things coming up in the months ahead! My family are travelling across the pond to come and stay, I have a mooting final to take part in, Alexander turns 12, and James graduates University with a first-class honours degree!

My boys

I am really enjoying the last few weeks at home with these cuties. I really can't believe that they will both be at school in September. They are such wildly different characters. I love them to bits! 

Have a great Friday.  

Where did summer go?

It's been a long summer. The weather has been okay, not very warm but not too much rain. We have been having great fun, with days out, and a trip to Weymouth. There are plenty of jobs in the garden to do. In March Richard made me some raised beds and they are doing really well. We've got Peas, Leeks, Parsnips, Courgettes, Lettuce, Cabbage, Carrots, Herbs, Sweet Corn, Kale, Onions, Garlic, Butternut squash, Pumpkins and swede. We also have had a great crop of beans this year. We grew Potatoes in sacks and the green house is full of tomatoes and cucumbers. I have had great success with many different flowers this year. I planted up some hanging baskets that are flowering well. 

On a sad note Ginny my beautiful Rhode Rock, got poorly and passed away. We noticed she had lost weight and separated her from the others. I hand fed her for four days and tried a few different treatments I read online, but unfortunately she passed in her sleep. We wasted no time in filling the void in our hearts with some babies, 7 week old chicks. I will post some pictures of them soon. 

Thumper is going through his yearly molt and looks a bit scruffy. He's been a very happy boy and is doing well. My little boys are getting bigger and bigger. Luke is starting school in September and I will be back at University. Time seems to fly by these days. I've got lots of projects lined up and hope to post some of them on here. You can follow me on Instagram @sarahcouling for updates and fun stuff more often. Finding the time to blog is harder than ever right now, I would promise to make an effort to post more often, but I always do and then fail to follow through. *face-palm* 

Summer has gone.

 

How Terribly awful that I haven't posted on my blog since July! This is a travesty. Even worse is the fact that I don't have anything interesting for you to read...
Well It's been a lovely long summer and the boys have had a whole term back at school. I started my own school back up in October so I have been busy busy busy as well. It's all go in this household. Got to see my lovely mother in October and my cousins wedding. But as of late its been back to the daily grind. Sleep, eat, mum, repeat. ;) Uni is going well. Calling it uni makes me feel young so I will continue to do so for as long as I can get away with it. Law School is just as I thought it would be and I am learning to like it. My first assignment this term is due Wednesday, so that why I am writing here...procrastinate much. No, in all fairness I have been working on it all day and need a change of pace and a G n' T. Craftwise I have done nothing exiting at all. OMG that's a complete lie. I forgot to post about my first entry in the Chew Stoke Harvest Home. I bagged a few prizes. despite my best efforts I didn't get any firsts, doh! But two seconds and a third aren't bad for a first go. Millie on the other hand won first prize in the dog show for boniest puppy!! and then 6th place over all. That's my girl. She now has some lovely rosettes to show off. Now autumn is in full swing I hope to post a bit more frequently on here. back to once a week at least. Such a lazy bones! bye for now.