The Simple Things..

It's been so lovely travelling here, there and everywhere, but equally it's been great having a few days to grab at home.  Here are a selection of our favourite memories from the past few summer weeks.

Time in the garden

We feel much gratitude for a beautiful garden, and have enjoyed many meals outside in this glorious weather. The children have wanted a seat swing for ages so we bought one in the sale for them. It's just lovely watching them play together and to share the garden with their friends.

Repurposing

The money we had set aside for home improvements got eaten up with my health bills this year, so we have spent quite a few weekends repurposing what we have to make the house look prettier. Here are the girls shabby-chicing an old piano stool we bought for a couple of pounds in a junk shop.

Silliness

Life just wouldn't be the same without silly moments and friends to share it with. An impromptu visit by some friends bought a much needed smile to our faces.

Cleaning the Chapel

Last Saturday night, after a very long day of garage sale duties, we were just about to settle down for the night when Ismay piped up "ooh daddy, it's our turn to clean the chapel". It was the very last thing we wanted to do after me having been away all week and our busy day, but we wanted to impress upon our children the importance of integrity, and fulfilling our responsibility..

It was with great reluctance that at eight at night we all piled into the car (correction; the children were enthusiastic, the reluctance came from the adults!). Once there however, we worked really quickly and efficiently and had a few giggles as daddy performed a silly cat walk around the chapel whilst cleaning!

Finding joy in the small things 

This holiday has been full of medical appointments, so when things have seemed a bit daunting, we have read from our gratitude jar. (An idea we saw on Facebook where every Monday during family home evening we have each written a note saying what we were grateful for). I am so grateful to be surrounded by my happy little family who recognise joy in the simple things.

As a reward for helping us with the garage sale, the children were allowed to choose something from the items left over. Eden chose some bits and pieces (last photo in the grid) to make a spy costume with.The girls of course chose a handbag. Once they were in bed, J and I were tidying up and discovered Ismay's bag. We peeked inside and there was a jam jar with a tiny, dead frog that she had found earlier. We laughed out loud, most little girls would have a bag full of dolls or makeup, not our Ismay! What a delight it is to have children who are inquisitive.

Frozen

Ever since Aunty Bex gave Mia the Frozen DVD back in April, the girls have been desperate to have Elsa costumes. I was frankly shocked at how expensive they were, and some of the off the shoulder ones seemed too grown up for my little girls.  

So, I kept promising the girls that I would make them one, but with lesson plans, PhD deadlines and some other stressful factors in our lives I just couldn't seem to find the time.  This last week, I buckled down, and with their help, managed to at last fulfill my promise.

The Helen Howlett School of Parenting

Having spent the last school holiday in hospital, I promised myself that the next one would be different. I would spend as much time with the children as possible, doing fun things with them to make up for it.

After our France and Colwyn Bay adventures, Cissy very kindly agreed to host us for a lovely little break in Dorset.  Dorset is a special place for the Basford family. Daddy used to holiday here for many years, so has very fond memories, it is also where Mummy finally said "yes" to Daddy.

Attending therapy has helped me to realise how much what we experience in childhood shapes the type of person we become, so I have been thinking a lot about my parents recently, and the impact my brand of parenting will ultimately have on my children.

This has become evident during my stay with Celestria in August 2014. Whilst both of us have different parenting styles, there is a distinct, common thread that binds it all together, the unmistakeable smattering of colourful "learning through play" that comes from our incredible mother Helen Howlett. Our courageous mother taught all four of us at home until I was aged 11. She had no car, very little money and no family nearby to help. It is truly amazing to me that she didn't go insane with us lot, especially as we had no TV and very few toys!!!

My mother is and was THE most outstanding teacher I know, training at Sheffield and practicing as soon as she graduated to finish paying for my Daddy's B Ed, she taught me everything I know about teaching and learning. It is a testament to her teaching skills that all four of her children are University educated. At time of writing, one of her children is about to embark on the second year of her PhD, another has a Masters in Ancient History and Politics from one of the top universities, Cardiff, another has a first class Honours degree and another has a Bachelors degree, obtained under very difficult circumstances and with very little support from the faculty they attended. All four of us were never forced or pressured to study; in fact, we all put ourselves through university, paying our own way with no financial support from our parents. Simply, Mummy knew how to make us passionate about finding out about the world around us.

The more I spend time with my sisters (you as well Bethlehem), the more I realise what a profound impact those precious years had on our very being. Here's why:

Mummy loved nature and felt it was important for us to be aware of our environs. By the age of 7, I could identify a camomile flower, mallow plant, snakes head fratillery, three different types of trees according to their leaves and could recite the names of several animals in French. It made me smile therefore when we were out in the garden playing with the children and Cissy and I both found ourselves telling the children the names of plants and showing them which were edible. C's knowledge puts mine to shame!

Celestria, like myself and J for many years (we finally caved in 8 years ago) and us Howlett's growing up, has no TV, therefore play is an essential part of entertainment. My sister and her husband have very strong Eco values and are admirably self sufficient for many of their basic needs, and you can see this in the type of toys Sofia plays with. She has a cooker hand made by her Daddy which was a repurposed TV cabinet, her toy chest is full of recycled toys. This was very much the case for us children growing up,  I remember Daddy making us girls cots for our dollies, a garage for Jordan, mummy sewing dolls clothes for us and making dressing up clothes out of our worn out clothes.

Most importantly, mummy passed these skills down to us. I can see it here in C's house, I can see it in my own house; my children play with the Sylvanian family characters my siblings and I played with when they were younger, including the clothes that C and I sewed for them cos we couldn't afford to buy the pretty ready made ones.

Most of all, I always remember being read to, reading and visiting the library. Mummy and Daddy instilled in us the sheer joy of devouring a book. By 9 I had read Pride and Prejudice, most of A Midsummer Nights Dream, Jane Eyre and the entire Little Women series. Not because I had to, but because  I loved them. 

It is a real pleasure to see my own children enjoying reading, and especially to see them using this skill to teach their younger cousins.

Of course, being the grand daughters of an Art School graduate, creativity is pretty much in our blood. I cannot remember a time during my childhood when we were not drawing or painting (I have numerous scrap books rammed full of them that Mummy made for us over the years). I guess it's no surprise then that all of the second generation Howlett offspring share this love too.

Each day I am a parent I grow to love my Mummy more and more. I realise the incredible sacrifices she went to to give us the best start in life. Her example of motherhood is exemplary, and I don't tell her often enough. If there is any good in me and the way I bring up my kids, it is down to her, her patience, wisdom and goodness.  For years, she and Daddy went without date nights because she didn't want to leave us with anyone else. When we were little we ALWAYS came first, it was us (sometimes to the detriment of time with her husband, my Daddy) that got her BEST side. Now we are grown, she and Daddy are enjoying their empty nest. This year they celebrated 40 years of happy married life and still continue to be as in love today as they were all those years ago when a 19 year old Londoner wrote poetry for his beautiful country girl. I can't help but think they came up with the perfect formula for happy marriage and family life.

Colwyn Bay

So Telford was wet and rainy, therefore Daddy very kindly drove us to sunny Colwyn Bay so we could see Grandpa at work during the towns' annual uke festival.

Grandpa didn't know we were coming and was surprised when the grandchildren came rushing into his pop up shop.

The children were thrilled to be able to "help" Grandpa, and kept saying;  "wow, Grandpa is famous" as they realised just how much of a renowned luthier Grandpa is among the Uke world.

They enjoyed playing the  beautiful instruments Grandpa had on display, although Nanah was understandably slightly nervous about them holding them as the total price of the instruments in the photo would buy me a nice car!!!

So that Grandpa could get on with his work we took the children for a walk by the beautiful beach. Colwyn Bay has some impressive coastline!

To thank Grandpa for letting us gate crash his party, we took him and Nanah out for dinner to a fabulous Indian restaurant recommended to us by the festivals' organiser.

We are so proud of you Grandpa Howlett, thank you for letting us be part of your day xx

Our (ok, my) enduring love affair with France: how we ended up going on holiday and coming back with a second house!

I can't quite pinpoint the exact time I became a Francophile. In my mind this dates back to when I was around 6 years old and we had a French missionary from Nice serving in our ward. I think it's safe to say it was love at first sight (for me anyway, he, quite rightly married a lovely girl after coming off his mission). I became obsessed with learning another language.

It could also have started when I started having occasional  ballet lessons at age 5 maybe? We were still living in Essex and I remember hearing these strange words that were attributed to the warm up exercises that we did. My dad at the time taught in a secondary school and I remember asking him what the words meant and he asked one of his French teacher colleagues to make a vocab tape for me which I religiously listened to every day.

Any way, my first ever visit abroad occurred with my Granny and Grandad Howlett aged 11. We went to Port Grimaud, a tourist village near Saint Raphael.  I remember landing on the spectacular Nice airport (still my favourite run way), picking up our bags, seeing the palm trees, feeling the dry southern heat and listening to every one speaking FRENCH. It was simply amazing and I loved every single minute! eating the food! visiting the Gorges du Verdon, Monaco, Nice............

My next visit abroad when I 17, was again to France.  This time it was to Angers, a large town to the North West of Paris. This was part of my work experience for A level French and I worked for Credit Mutuel for two weeks. Again, I just loved soaking up the "Frenchness" even though it was pretty exhausting going to work in a different country using a language we could barely speak.

During the third year of my degree I was lucky enough to be interviewed for and chosen to work for Sanofi in Labege, Toulouse.  That year just about did it for me, I LOVED everything about it and as soon as it was time to go home,  I extended my contract so that I could work right up until I was due back at University.  I vowed that. I would return there to live. The grey of Birmingham just paled in comparison to the incredible experiences I had had eating outside every day, swimming most nights after work and TALKING French. I was pretty much fluent by now thanks to making great French friends who immersed me in their lives.

After I finished my final year exams, I packed my bags and flew straight back to Toulouse, working my first job as an accounts manager for RugbyShop and then was head hunted by an audit firm in Paris. 

So I was all set with my French life and my French job ready to marry my French man until...........

My childhood friend popped back into my life, we fell in love and he asked me to marry him..........

After a good few months of mulling it over, I said yes, on the proviso that he take me back to France as often as he could........

He made good on that promise, time and again.....

He knew it was always my dream to own my own little place in the south......

So when the time was right, and the location was perfect........

We took the plunge..........

Here it is: our soon to be little part of heaven.........

No place like home

Even though we love being on holiday, there's also nothing quite like coming home to your own bed. Our journey home from France was quite the adventure, with sickness,  failed toll barriers and various aches and pains that prevented driving from both adults at various stages of the journey.

Nevertheless, we lived to tell the tale and on the whole, we were really impressed by the good behaviour of the children during a 13 hour car journey.

When we got home, we were amazed to find them full of beans. When we awoke in the morning, we found that they had been up since the crack of dawn, equipping their rooms with "passwords".  So funny, especially the irony of the sign Mia attached to her door!

I had washing and housework to catch up on so I suggested they rediscover their toys. I love watching them all play together. I know people thought I was crazy when Eden was born and I had a 2 1/2 year old and an 18 month old (and I still get raised eyebrows when am asked for their ages and I say 8, 7 and 6) but I think it's marvellous how close they all are. Although they inevitably fight, they are also really patient with each other and love to play together. I love "spying" on their play and listening in on their games. I am proud of their capacity to play independently now, and of how they use their imaginations. In these photos they were playing spies who were looking after a robot queen.

Whilst we were away, the garden had begun to bear forth it's fruit.....we found yellow tomatoes, peas, and mange tout, and picked them all to use with dinner. We decided to set the table prettily and eat outside so we invited Grandma and and Grandad over as well for a catchup.

The children asked for a day at home on Friday so we decided to invite the Daniels children and as I had been sorting and cleaning the kitchen cupboards and had found loads of ingredients I didn't realise we had, we hosted our own version of GBBO.  These were the rules: I selected some ingredients and utensils and placed them on the table. The children then had to make up their own dessert without weighing scales or recipes. Faith was really good with the younger children, and it was lovely to see her natural talent shining through. Even the boys got involved and were very creative.

I was talking to Mummy about this the other day....since when did I turn into my Grandpa and pass this onto my kids? Grandpa Leo Fenton was the first of our family to attend University, attending art college in Bristol in the 50's. He loved collecting things and repurposing them. He was the ultimate "upcycler" and his house was a veritable treasure trove. I remember handling a whole range of shells from his. Navy days in Cylon (or Shri- Lanka) as it is known as today. Rummaging though his many sheds to find things he collected and watching him build outbuildings with literally anything he could lay his hands on. He was a very talented man and as head of Art at Oldbury Wells in Bridgnorth for many years,  I wonder how many other people got to benefit from the skills he had.

So as consequence, I too am always collecting things and judging by the big box of "things" seen in this first picture here with Iz, so are my children.  Ismay found a canvas in the craft box and asked for some glue and shells that we collected on holiday. I was amazed to see her come up with this concept on her own. My contribution was the writing at the bottom.

I love how the heart is more akin to the anatomically correct version and not the ones we see portrayed on an everyday basis. All my children amaze me with their abilities.

Our Tour de France 2014

I am so grateful to Jason who insisted we go on a family holiday this year. Usually I plan everything like this but this year I was too ill, and had to leave everything to him. At the time he booked in March, I was too ill to even register where it was we were going, so after my works meal in July when he came to pick me up with the car packed and the kids I still didn't really know what to expect.......

So during family home evening on Monday, we discussed our favourite moments from our holiday. We were all unanimous in our agreement that this has to be our favourite holiday of all time. The main reason for this being that we loved the area so much that we bought a house here!!!

First lay over: Paris, Neuilly sur Seine

Whilst daddy recovered from driving us admirably through the night, from Telford to Paris I took all three children around the city. We took the metro to the Louvre, walked from there to the Pont Neuf, where we purchased a lock to put on the bridge of locks. We then took a batobus and got off at the Eiffel Tower. From there we walked back to the Metro. It was a hot day, but I was so proud of how the kids behaved.

It was their second time in Paris, but they were still so enthusiastic about discovering all the little gems Paris has to offer.

Second leg: Lyon

Because of the busy roads due to holiday season in France, we left Paris at 04:00 and drove to Lyon where we met Aunty Anne-Isabelle. After having breakfast, we left daddy to catch up on some Zeus and went with Jerome and Anne-Isabelle to the Basilique and roman amphitheatre. The kids really enjoyed the view. Eden and took a Mummy/son trip here last year and he enjoyed showing his sisters where to go as he remembered some of the paths we took.

When we got back to the apartment the sun was up so we took advantage of being able to spend time in the swimming pool. The children and a lovely swim and we ate lunch and then hit the road once more.

Third pit stop: Cap d'Agde

Due to the various health issues I've been dealing with, I couldn't even think about planning a holiday this year. Luckily, Jason could and did and rented us a beautiful villa in the area of the Cap d'Agde. The place was truly amazing, beautiful beaches, lots to do and so much unspoilt coast.

Our little villa had two bedrooms so the children got to sleep upstairs whilst we slept downstairs.

The beach was a 10 minute walk from our villa, and it was so child friendly. The kids loved playing in the nearby park.

They also got to watch several games of "pétanque" (boules) at the boulodrome en route to the beach. We had to pass aqua,and on the way there and they loved watching people going down the rides. We promised them that when they were older we would take them.

The beaches were stunning and the kids and I enjoyed collecting shells! playing and dancing I. The beach, body boarding and swimming. We treated the kids to body boards and as Eden found the salt water too painful for his eczema, daddy got to spend some quality time boarding with his girls. 

We also enjoyed some relaxing time in the mornings in the villa, the girls and I painting nails and daddy and Eden reading or playing games.

Church was interesting, mainly due to Eden screaming all the way through sacrament!! Luckily, daddy was on hand to deal with this.

We took them to Beziers for the day as this was close by. When Mia and Ismay were babies we'd come here on holiday with J's parents and eaten in a restaurant in the city centre. We took them all to the same restaurant and they enjoyed eating a meal here.

Our friends, the Lelong family came to visit us and we spent the day climbing Mont St Loup, a dormant volcano and collecting volcanic rock. We visited a typical Southern French village called Pezenas and enjoyed seeing each other again. These children were 3 and 5 when I first knew them. Now look how tall they are!

Part of going on holiday is allowing the children to earn some pocket money to spend. After a week of careful perusing, the girls decided they wanted to spend theirs on getting their hair done, whilst Eden opted for the toy/ice cream date with mummy option. :)

We have enjoyed introducing the children to whole new palate and have been thrilled led to see them trying new things. We have also been encouraging them to help us with dinner by asking them to make the salad. Here are some of their efforts which we are very proud of:

Fourth stop: Toulouse, Toulouse oh la Ville rose

Toulouse has long been one of our favourite places. We go back as often as we can, even if it is just to see this crazy family's lots of laughter was had, kilos of meat eaten and more memories kpcreated.

And home

After a hideous journey home (we were all sick over the weekend and. Iz in the car!!') we made it home in one piece - in spite of several sick incidents!!