A Right Royal Knees Up

Wedding fever truly hit the Prior household yesterday! The lounge was decked out in bunting, union jack table cloths were out in force and of course there was a little spot of dressing up:



TV went on at 8am and there we sat, watching all the build up and right through the ceremony itself. I know there are some people out there who are anti the royal family to varying degrees but I thought it was fabulous and made me proud to be British. It was so impressive to see the huge outpouring of support for a young couple who seem so in love and in some ways so normal, but have such a huge weight of responsibility to carry through their future.

After a quick break for a swimming lesson.....





.... it was back home to get the plates and (union jack of course!) napkins out ready for the royal visit! Well, not quite but two sets of parents and Aunty Carole amount to almost the same thing.

In true British style it wasn't long before we had a knock at the door inviting us to an impromptu street party round the corner. So we gathered up cakes and wandered round. Say what you like about "the country today" and "things aren't what they used to be" but we had a great time and were really welcomed into the area. I love these times when the community comes together with a common cause to celebrate.Maybe this was a good practice run for the Diamond Jubilee next year? I better get my organising hat on, I feel a spreadsheet coming on....! Talking of hats, Lily's red, white and blue effort was such a hit I may have a few orders coming from the local primary school :)

All too soon it was time to head back home, have a little relax:



and contemplate having watched history being made!

National Distress?

You can't help but notice the outpouring of national pride recently, in the run up to a certain wedding tomorrow. I am sure every other little bit of suburbia around the country is like ours with flags, bunting, street parties and so on. But I am beginning to see a worrying trend. Those of you who know me in real life will know it has been concerning me for many years but the last few weeks have seen an exponential rise in the number of distress signals around:



If you're not sure of the problem here, check out this link. Or this one. Or even this one.

The problem with being something of a pedant about certain things as I am, is that I feel the urge to knock on people's doors to ask them the cause of their distress. As a Girl Guide I want to assist where I can and can't help but wonder if there is any way I can relieve their anxiety. I have resisted temptation so far for fear of a less than thankful response. I only hope the flags come down this time tomorrow so that normal service can be resumed once more!

Easter Sun Day

Having noted via Mrs B's Facebook status this morning that Easter is in fact another pagan festival stolen by Christianity, I didn't feel too guilty that we skipped church today in favour of worshipping the Gods of Food and Shopping!

A chance reading of a local freebie magazine last week brought the Reading Vintage Fair to our attention, so plans were made for a family trip out. Top tip, if you want to eat out in Reading on a Sunday lunch time, go for Easter Sunday! With the shops closed, most of the eateries were almost empty, giving Lily ample choice of where to go. She settled on Nando's and, as you can see, took great delight in studying the menu:



Note, if you will, the blurred hand waving with some vigour at the thought of her first tentative steps up the "Peri-ometer"!

All chickened up and ready to go, we headed over to The Purple Turtle - one of Reading's most famed drinking establishments. The last time I was in here was to celebrate a certain Mr Keeble's birthday in December 2009. I only have a hazy recollection of the evening but I have a very sharp memory of finding out a few days later that I was expecting Lily. Fortunately she doesn't seem any the worse for the experience, but there did seem to be a look of slight recognition on her face as we walked in!



The usual bar stools and table football had been moved aside for stalls selling vintage dresses, handbags, jewellery, padlock keys (!) and all sorts of other bits and bobs. There was so much to choose from I didn't know where to start. Lily stole the show as usual and when one stall holder commented on her abundant locks, we couldn't walk away without buying her first hair clips.

Thinking with our stomachs as usual, attention turned to The White Rabbit Bakery stand, selling tea and the most beautiful cupcakes. Where once we bought everything in pairs we now have to buy in threes, or in this case rather conveniently, two and a halfs.



Baby-led weaning is really going well and Lily got stuck in!



The next fair is on Sunday May 29th. Definitely one for the calendar!

Nice Wheels (Make Do And Mend Part 2)

OK, so the blogging has slowed down a little over the last few days, but I promise I've not been idle - far from it in fact. I've become a bit of an Ebay lover of late. I think it stems from the many years I spent as a child wandering round car boot sales on the hunt for a bargain. Car boot sales seem to be more and more full of junk of late, but I believe that's because Ebay is where it's at!

I love hunting out a bargain, but I think for me it's less about saving lots of money and more about the thrill of the chase and the feeling of giving a bit of life back to something that's been unloved. That was certainly the case with my latest acquisition.

We've been on the lookout for an all terrain push chair for a while, with the VW show season just around the corner. Unfortunately the budget didn't really stretch to a new one, especially as this will be Lily's second, so I turned to my old friend Ebay. I missed out on a few as it seems everyone was getting the same idea, with some second hand push chairs going for almost as much as a brand new one. I decided to change tactic a little and look at some that had been slightly less well cared for, and also moved away from the Phil and Ted's which although they are well designed and made do seem to command a high price tag.

Eventually I snagged the hard hunted bargain and after a road trip last weekend brought home this little beauty:

OK, so not much of a looker to start with, but like I said I like the challenge! First job, canvas off! Here's the sun shade in all its dirty faded glory:



Of course, it pays to take pics of how it goes back together before removing the screws:



There were some wires sewn completely inside the canvas, so plan A of sticking it in the washing machine reverted to plan B of washing it in the bath. A mixture of washing powder, Vanish and nappy sanitising powder brought it up a treat and left the bath water looking similar to Steve's after he's been out on his bike. Meanwhile the chassis took a little holiday at Rotec Cycles where Simon gave it an MOT, replaced a tyre and overhauled the front brake. As I was feeling generous (and too lazy to make one) I treated Lily to a new cozy toes to pop inside as she's still a bit small for it really. Steve and I screwed it all back together (it's difficult to hold the canvas tight and get the screws back in on your own!) and I think Lily was happy with the result:



It had a good trial run at Wheels Day on Friday and met with approval all round, so I think for less than half the cost of a new one and a few hours labour we've bagged ourselves some nice wheels for the show season :)

Back to work...

So, the time is nearly here. I've had to start thinking this week about my return to work. Not just as something away in the future, but actually soon.

To be honest I have really mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I can see all the benefits. Financially, obviously, and also maintaining my career, using my degree and training and so on. But on the other hand I would be completely happy at this point to stay at home full time with Lily and never think about work again. I know it's a difficult choice that all mums have to go through at this point, but somehow that doesn't make it any easier.

For us, financially, there is no choice. To continue our lifestyle as we have it now, I need to work (not that our lifestyle is lavish by any means). I remember a friend once saying to me "you always have a choice, you just might not like the choice you have". How true that is!

One thing that really had been playing on my mind was feeding Lily. At the moment we are currently in the throes of baby-led weaning, which means she is starting on some solids but is also still breast fed. I love breastfeeding her, and having come this far really was starting to worry at the thought of giving up before she was ready. Working a good 30 minutes from home seemed to make that inevitable. However recently I've had my thoughts on that one changed, firstly by reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (a fantastic book which should be recommended reading for all expectant mums who plan to breastfeed, I wish I had read it 6 months ago) and also by watching Is Breast Best? on BBC3 the other night. Both of them have great examples of woman managing to work whilst continuing to breastfeed.

There are still a lot of issues and feelings for me to work through, but that's at least one weight off mind!

Lily's Top of the Pops

Lily seems to be taking after me in her love of music, so today I would like to give you her top 5!

In at Number 5 - Original and best:

A non-mover at Number 4 - Who wants a rubber dolly?:

Up at Number 3 - Daddy's favourite:

 

Dancing it's way to Number 2 - Clean version!:

 

And this weeks Top of the Pops - Just the best for dancing in the bouncer:

A Grand Day Out

What perfect weather today for a day out at the RHS garden at Wisley.

The main building:



There is currently a massive display of orchids in the glasshouse:





This amused me:



Fabulous foliage:





Flower girl:



Beautiful Lily shot (lol):