'Long Exposure in "YURIKAMOME" (Tokyo, Japan)' by t-Mizo

Long Exposure in "YURIKAMOME" (Tokyo, Japan), a photo by t-mizo on Flickr.

I have to show you this photo as I just think it's rather cool. I love that fact that it looks like you are flying through the underground system at super high speeds. But it's not just that. I also like the lovely soft colours. They are actually rather pretty. I also can't help noticing the similarity between this image and a macro photograph of the inside of a flower. This one by me for example.

'On the beach' by Me

On the beach, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Now I have two children I realise that I have to make an extra special effort to spend quality time with each of them on their own. My daughter will be starting school full time in September so I am sure my son and I will get up to all sorts of fun things then. I am sad though that I will be seeing much less of my little girl during the day so I want to make sure we have as many mummy and daughter dates as we can. We did great on that front this weekend. On Saturday night I had a sleepover in her room. We stayed up late and made jewellery, made bookmarks, painted our toenails, read books, read comics and played on the iPad. And most importantly we had sleepover snacks in the form of popcorn and biscuits. It was really fun. I am sure we'll do it again soon! And then today we went off together for a drink and a slice of cake at a lovely little coffee shop in town and then did a spot of shopping in the sunshine.

Here is a lovely summery picture I took of my little girl nearly three years ago. I can't believe it when I say three years! I guess my little girl is starting to become my big girl. She'll always be my little best friend though.

'barbie & sindy' by (Myling)Hemlig

barbie & sindy, a photo by (Myling)Hemlig on Flickr.

So who remembers Sindy dolls then? I had lots of them. In fact I think I kind of preferred them to my Barbies. Sadly I didn't keep any of my old dolls which is a shame because I would have loved to have shown them to my Barbie loving daughter. I was therefore rather chuffed to stumble across this photo of a Barbie and Sindy side-by-side. I hadn't realised just how different they looked. The Sindy doll definitely has more of a 'girl next door' look to her.

Anyway, there's my little bit of nostalgia for the weekend. Hope you have a lovely few days, especially if you have a long Bank Holiday weekend ahead of you.

'35 SP & MEXICAN COKE' by La Brancaro

35 SP & MEXICAN COKE, a photo by La Branĉaro on Flickr.

My daughter and I were on a mission today. We spent ages in two shops looking for those special promotional Coca Cola bottles with our names on. We didn't find either of them though. Or any of our family in fact. I don't know why it suddenly became so important to us. My daughter was especially gutted and she doesn't even drink coke or any fizzy drinks for that matter! Perhaps we'll go to a bigger supermarket later in the week. I don't think our quest is over yet!

And to go with my mad rambling about coke bottles with names here is a very lovely photo of some Coca Cola and a camera. I like it because it's a really chilled out image. I am imagining this was taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon and the photographer was having a quick refreshing drink before heading off to take pretty pictures!

'Birthday presents' by Me

Birthday presents, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I've just realised it 's nearly a month since my son's first birthday so I should probably have shared this photo with you by now. I took this picture whilst his big sister was helping him open his presents first thing in the morning.

I can't believe how much my little boy has grown up this past month. He really seems like a little toddler now rather than a baby, especially as he is walking now! He was always on his feet but since we've been stuck indoors lots this past week because of my daughter's chicken pox he's had so much time to practice. In fact he hardly crawls now unless he really wants to get somewhere quickly!

'pita pizza' by butterflyfoodie

pita pizza, a photo by butterflyfoodie on Flickr.

Just a quick post tonight as I wait for my pizza to be delivered. It's been a long week and I'm shattered so can't face cooking. Stuffed crust pizza with Choccie Chunks for dessert - bring it on.

Here is a very stylish photo of a pizza. It looks like it belongs in a cookery book. It's making me feel hungry. Hurry up Mr Pizza Man!!

Hope you all have a lovely stress free weekend.

'Redcar I' by Jeff Teasdale

Redcar I, a photo by Jeff Teasdale on Flickr.

I am sad because my little girl is ill right now. It's nothing serious, just chicken pox but it breaks my heart to see her suffering. I also know that it's extremely likely that my little boy will get it too in the next couple of weeks and that is stressing me out. I guess it's good though that he'll get it out the way so young.

This photograph sums up how I am feeling right now. I feel very grey and miserable. I love the fact that in the darkness of this picture there are those really bright chairs. The brightness in my situation is that all this time at home has meant lots of walking practice for my son. I pretty much think I can call him a walker now as he gets most places on foot - sometimes holding on to things sometimes not.

Hope you're having a better week than me!

'Summer toes' by Me

Summer toes, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

So how was your weekend? Fantastic I hope as I really enjoyed mine. Yesterday, as I mentioned before, was a really productive one but today was lovely and chilled out. We were up and out quite early as we wanted to check out a local car boot sale. We wanted to see if it'd be a good place to sell our baby stuff. Then we headed to the shops as hubby wanted to take back a pair of shoes and I needed to buy socks - oh the exciting life we lead! Then as the sun was shining we decided to have a barbecue for lunch. The sun didn't shine for long though so we ended up having a barbecue picnic in the living room in front of the telly. And after that we just chilled out. Hubby watched the footy and I did a few things on the laptop. Doesn't feel like we've been able to just hang out like that for ages but all of a sudden the kids are at an age where they can play together without one of us having to play along too. And seriously I could watch them playing for ages as they are just so cute together.

Anyway, the weather might have turned a bit cold again but here's a picture I took last week when the sun was shining. Don't you just want to tickle these cute little toes? I love it when babies kneel down and their little feet stick out from under them like this.

'gerbera' by KUMIKO SEKIGUCHI

gerbera, a photo by KUMIKO SEKIGUCHI on Flickr.

We've had a very productive weekend so far and the loft was indeed tackled. We've actually given it a really good sort out. The main focus of today was all the baby things we won't be needing again. We've now decided on what we want to try and sell, what we'll give away and what just needed to go straight to the textiles bin at the local tip (my daughter had a rather sicky stage when she was a baby). It's funny I thought I would be really sad going through baby clothes but I wasn't. I guess I am just enjoying watching my children growing up so much that I don't really miss the tiny baby stage. The thing that I wasn't able to say goodbye to just yet though was the maternity clothes. I really don't know why as I hated being pregnant. I mean I was incredibly happy to be pregnant both times and I felt so privileged but being pregnant was really not something that suited me. I thought I would skip around in a pregnant glow but instead I just felt so incredibly awful. I guess the maternity clothes for me a just a reminder of what I did. I've never really felt like a great achiever in life but being pregnant and giving birth to two amazing children has actually made me feel proud of something I've done. I'm going to end this blog post here before I start getting too soppy. Here is a wonderful Polaroid picture. I would love to be able to take instant pictures like this. I am going to blame my cameras. Perhaps I need a new one!

'Rainbow' by Me

Rainbow, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I can't believe it's Friday already. This week has flown by but I guess that's what happens after a bank holiday. So what have you got planned for this weekend? For us it's going to be a getting things done weekend. This means we shall be mostly tackling the loft as there is a whole heap of decluttering that needs doing up there. Wish us luck as it's not going to be an easy job!

Oh and here is another photo from our trip to Wales. We were lucky as it was mainly sunny but when it did rain one evening we were presented with the most beautiful rainbow. I like this photo I took but I really don't think it does the rainbow justice as it was seriously stunning. I love rainbows!

Happy weekend folks!

'Moon Bar at Vertigo' by Travel Aficionado

Moon Bar at Vertigo, a photo by Travel Aficionado on Flickr.

I didn't think I had any particular desire to go to Thailand until I saw this photograph. Now I think it might be worth the plane ticket just so I could go to this bar. What an amazing view. I wish there was an open air bar as high up as this in London. I love going up high landmarks like this as I love views that look out over a city. And if there's a glass of wine waiting for me at the top then that makes it even more fabulous!

'On Manchebo Beach drinking a nice cocktail' by mancheboaruba

On Manchebo Beach drinking a nice cocktail, a photo by mancheboaruba on Flickr.

Just to update you, I still haven't ticked a lot off my to do list but I have had a lovely weekend. My Bank Holiday Monday was spent chilling out in the garden, eating too much barbecue food and probably drinking too much wine! It really does feel like summer has arrived. I felt I had to including a summery photo here tonight so here's a lovely one which feels just right. Even though I've not been anywhere near a beach this weekend, especially in Aruba where this was taken, I have been drinking cocktails and I have been enjoying the sunshine. Here's hoping the sun sticks around for a while.

'Again, be careful to make a good improvement of precious time. David Brainerd' by Joke Gaasendam

Again, be careful to make a good improvement of precious time. David Brainerd, a photo by Joke Gaasendam on Flickr.

So how's your weekend been? Socially mine has been really good. Cocktails out with the girls last night, a 5th birthday party today and friends are coming over to ours for a barbecue tomorrow. The ever increasing to do list however doesn't appear to be getting any shorter. I think I might just have to start writing things like "have a shower" and "eat dinner" on it just so I can cross them out afterwards and feel like I've achieved something! Tonight I really have to dedicate some time to tackling all the thank you notes I have to write for my son's birthday presents. Therefore I just have time to tell you I think this photo is lovely. I love flowers being displayed simply like this. And I love tulips. I think I need more tulips in my life now spring is here.

'laundry day' by Suzi Marshall

laundry day, a photo by Suzi Marshall on Flickr.

Well my aim of posting every day in May hasn't started well as I didn't get a chance to yesterday. I always seem to be so busy but never seem to actually achieve anything. I feel like I am constantly catching up with things. Catching up with housework, with emails, with blog posts, even with programmes on my Sky+ box. It hasn't helped this week that we were away for a few days then I got sick so I am behind on so much. The house is a mess which really gets me down and I am sad because I've not had a chance to practice the crochet that I waited for so long to learn. Hopefully, I can get on top of my endless to do list soon. In the mean time here is a pretty picture of laundry as being able to hang the washing up outside this week has made me smiley. It's the little things! I love this photograph as you can almost smell the freshness. It was taken on a sunny day in winter and I think you can tell just by looking at it that it wasn't taken in summer. It's still a sunny day but you can tell the light is some how different.

Hope you've had a good week and a have super fantastic weekend - especially if you've got a long bank holiday weekend like we have in the UK.

'Hiking cuddles' by Me

Hiking cuddles, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Just a quick post tonight as am not feeling great and need my bed. I have however promised myself that I will catch up on my blogging in May so what better way to start than by posting on the first of the month. As I mentioned in my last post we've just got back from a short break away in Wales to celebrate my son's first birthday. As you can image I took many photos but most of them were people pictures. I do have a few non people ones though which I took and rather like. This is one of my favourites. I only took this as a quick landscape shot. I didn't notice until I got home and uploaded it onto the computer that there was a rather cute couple in it having a cuddle. It looks rather romantic. Athough they could have just been trying to stay warm as it was freezing on top of that cliff.

Right, best go as my bed is calling me. See you soon!