By Command of Her Royal Highness Mountain Mumma.

Apparently because I've started a blog I think I'm the Queen!!!! Or somebody important or something?!?!? Not a terminal underachiever with an interest in writing and a want of keeping in touch with dear friends and family who do not live locally,  as I had thought. Ha! But what do I know anyway?  I think, certainly to a bystander, there have been many Queen-like qualities to my demeanour over the years...

•  Such as being up to elbows in the droppings of various animals on a daily basis. 
• Or the birth of my first child while the entire staff of Neville Hall came to look at my cervix, including (seemingly) the catering and janitorial staff.
•  Rolling through an enormous stingy nettle patch into a boggy ditch trying to catch a psychotic Goat.
•  Wetting myself every time I sneezed or coughed for two months after the birth of my second child. 
• Traipsing across country in a barely maintained vehicle with two small children to provide personal care for my ever dementing Grandfather.
•  Skinning and gutting the various game that was often for dinner or sorting the various carcasses that came back from the slaughterhouse for customers.
• Getting up at all hours of the night to settle/feed my children and/or goat kids/lambs/puppies/kittens/rabbits kits or whatever other infant animals I've hand reared over the years. 

I think all of these are exceptionally Queenly behaviours. Coupled with the jaunty angle of my wave as I cruise through the local Hamlet, throwing the local peasants a few shekels as I pass. 

"Oh Katherine" They say. "You are indeed a kind and benevolent ruler" Of course they are always careful to never look me directly in the eye.

"Thank you kind subjects" I reply, "Now be gone, your destitution is offensive to my eyes!" And my golden carriage majestically departs.

There's a moral here somewhere, maybe several. 

1) Be kind with your words. You never know how much someone might already be hurting.

2) Be careful with your words. You never know if you have been privy to the whole story.

3)Select your words wisely. The fewer you carelessly throw around, the fewer you might have to choke back down one day.

Right, I'm off to eat some swan and beat my servants with the carcass.

See you later underlings!

Favorite Places

Mwnt

This is our obligatory seaside escape. My parents have a static caravan here and we don't get out here as often as we should. The views are absolutely breathtaking, it's the most beautiful

 part of the Welsh coastline (in my humble opinion).  The wildlife is abundant, Cardigan bay has

 Europe's largest population of bottle nose dolphins and there are fantastic boat trips to see them and quite possibly the cheekiest Seals in the UK.

 This is Poppit sands. Dog friendly and close to the beautiful little town of St Dogmaels. 

Spike in the Autumn sea at Aberaeron. Makes me chilly just looking at it.

Just before Granny turned up with the Fish and Chips Mmmmm...

Spud doesn't find pebble beaches the easiest to toddle on.

But dozing in the Mei Tai is a win!

Bellevue

I spent most weekends here when my grandparents lived here. I later moved here with my 

parents when they bought it off my grandparents nearly 10 years ago and am back here now. It's almost worth it just for the views!

 Spring is beautiful when the blue bells are out.

In the snow

View from the top

spike and his cousin out for a walk.

I have so many excellent memories attached to Bellevue. All the family gathered around one of my grandmother's buffets. Sarcasm turned up to 11 and the knob snapped off. My Grampy berating BT for making a customer service call during an international rugby match. "Don't you know there's a game on?!" Were his actual words. I kid you not, it was brilliant.

More favourite places to some soon...

Stay at home mum to single mum.

End of an Era.

A seven year relationship has come to end. It had ups and downs, laughter and tears and produced two beautiful little boys. I became a stay at home mum which definitely appealed to the suppressed recluse in me. Also, having that time with the boys was fantastic. We would go for long rambling woodland walks, have picnics by the river and have brilliant messy play sessions. Of course we are still going to do all those things but the upheaval of having the parameters of our existence totally shifted has been overwhelming at times. The boys and me are now living with my parents whilst I get myself back into work.  Thank goodness for family who have all been completely wonderful. Getting back into employment is massively daunting and at first I was floundering. I HAVEN'T WORKED FOR 5 YEARS WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO PUT ON A CV?!?!

Luckily I was able to compose myself and gather my thoughts. My ex-partner and I started a business. As he is completely phobic to anything technology related, whatever fell into the category of requiring the slightest knowledge of how to turn a computer on became my domain. Thankfully as we started the business 5 years ago not 500 years ago this meant quite a lot of stuff became my responsibility. Turns out I have picked up life skills despite being ONLY a stay at home mum. Yay go me!

I am already incandescent at the assumption that because I have happened to blast a couple of kiddos out of my hips it necessarily follows that my brain has turned to jam and I am going to have to perform messianic miracles during an interview process to get an employer to look twice at me. Seriously?! "Work" is going to be a breeze. Granted I was doing kids and small holding and joint ex-partner business venture... But the child/house thing alone is insane. My house perpetually looked like it had been robbed, they hadn't found anything worth nicking and so they trashed it a bit more in spite. Either that or I was failing spectacularly at a game of Jumanji. Actually that's just kids isn't it?

As for the kids. Spike (eldest, 4yrs old, carries slugs in his mouth and lines up small plastic animals) and Spud (18months, enormous, likes quavers and dancing) are adjusting to recent life changes well. I'm eager to make the transition as smooth as possible. Spike has started in the local nursery and seems to be settling in well. Apparently the first day he growled at everyone but now he is giving everyone a hug before he leaves so that's progress in anyone's book, says I!  Spud is Spud. He's cuddly and lovely. Everyone reassures me that he is at the age to be minimally affected and to be honest, as long as everyone puts their egos second and the boys first there is no reason for either of them to be irreparably scared for life.

Spike's Birthday

Birthday times were spent with immediate family. Granny, Pops, the cousins, Aunty Ruthy and Aunty Hannah.  Spike is a massive Bing Bunny fan and these have gone to bed with him every evening since he got them.  

Had to include this one. Emily getting massively involved with the cake. Fantastic!

Both boys are big Thomas and Friends fans so this was a bit of a tactical present really. They both love pushing the trains around the tracks and it takes a surprising amount of dexterity to push the carriage down and release it in the right way to make the volcano glow and dragon roar.  Bound to be some motor development going on there!

I usually do a home made cake but opted for a shop bought Thomas and Friends one from ASDA this year.  The kids loved it and I just didn't have the time or energy for homemade this year.

Had to include this. Hilarious.

All pooped out. Bless.