I haven’t posted in The Gallery for ages, this is my first this year.  I don’t get around to doing pretty much most things I want to these days.  This weeks theme, Simple Pleasures, struck a cord with me. 

We’ve had a really busy half term we have play dated, been to the cinema, eaten out, been swimming, to the park and attended a great blog event hosted by Nutella at Stockley Farm (opens to the public this Sunday 6th March).  The highlight for me, the lifetime memory if you like, was the afternoon a cat wandered into our garden and the children tried to herd it!

My Children have seen cats before, they have stroked cats before.  This has happened before – same cat, same garden, same children.  Just for some reason this time they were bothenraptured by it.  Baby G is now babbling away pretty much constantly with a few words in there too, her excitement was infectious and Lil H was laughing his head off.  He was being the big brother and sharing what he knows about cats (not a great deal to be honest but it was cute!) showing her how to call her over “here puss, puss” and making kissing noises at her explaining that they have claws and can scratch you if you try to pick them up by the back legs – he speaks passionately and from personal experience about this   

The cat lives in a house with four children, it is smart.  It wasn’t coming remotely close to grabbing distance but was happy to entertain Lil H and Baby G from a safe distance, rolling over and walking tantalisingly close past them!  It’s not often I get to just stand back and watch the two of them together without having to mediate, intervene, separate, reallocate toys, request apologies, deliver cuddles, food, drink etc.  I hope now they are getting older this will happen more and more and more often.  My two had a blast cat herding.  I had time to make and drink a cup of tea as well as take a load of photo’s and I had enough time to have a play on the manual settings too.  It was all good. 

It been a while since I’ve managed to get a post in time for The Gallery, there are many in draft and my head that never got published – bad blogger *slaps own wrists*  This week Tara’s theme  is ‘Your favourite photo. And why.’ An almost impossible task, quite possibly.

At the moment I am cherishing bedtimes with Lil’ H and reading bedtime stories.  It is (usually) a calm, quiet, cuddly part of the day.  I think it is because for me as a child it was a special time and if I was lucky my Daddy would be home on time.  That is why I have chosen this photo of me and my Daddy having bedtime stories.  It much be circa 1976 as that wallpaper came with a new house and didn’t stay for long!  No idea why – huge patterns in orange and brown are just gorgeous, no?!

The Gallery prompt over at Tara’s Sticky Fingers blog this week has had me “tapping my head and think, think, thinking” to quote Winnie-the-Pooh.  This week’s theme is: Can you see what it is yet?

This afternoon after failing miserably to take a non-obviously a sunflower photo of a sunflower I discussed the challenge with 3 year old H who was delighted to draw me this:

*** UPDATED 16/07/2010***  to quote Lil H “That’s my Daddy” so quite few very close guesses – thanks for all your comments & guesses the correct answer was Mr L to me and Daddy to lil’ H!

I await your guesses – I will publish the answer at midday on Friday 16th July 2010.  In the meantime don’t forget to check out all the other fabulous posts at The Gallery

Oh and in case you were hoping for sunflowers here they are direct to you from the living room at Lancaster Towers!

The Gallery has joined forces with the Writing Workshop which I have to confess scares the bejesus out of me.  You see I’m not a writer, I don’t really regard myself as a blogger even, by profession I am a marketer, by choice I am a mum and by financial necessity I combine the two. 

This weeks prompt is EMOTIONS so here goes … let me just pop back and check the instructions at Josie’s place, right OK, good to go, ahem … Love & Happiness

Just before I go to bed, I have a few indulgent minutes of love and happiness.  I watch my babies sleeping.  I listen to their breathing, their soft snuffles and sighs.  I stroke their hair, I hold their hand.  I return legs and arms to beneath covers.  One last goodnight kiss and a request to the angels to keep them safe until morning.  Sweet dreams.

Don’t forget to head over to Sticky Fingers and Sleep is for the weak to see all the fabulous posts which will be McLinky’d up from Wednesday 30th June 2010

This prompt for week 16 of The Gallery over at Tara’s Sticky Fingers blog, the prompt is Creatures

My first thought was my own little creatures, Lil H and Baby G but it always is!  I have been having and discarding ideas since the prompt was annouced on Friday.  About 30 minutes ago inspiration struck!  Lil’ H has a letter of the week at pre-school and he takes something starting with that letter for each of his three mornings a week.  We also carry the letter of the week on at home so even if he’s home with me we write the letter on the blackboard and talk about the sound and things that begin with that letter.  He’s only just three years old just wondering as I type this if I am being supportive or pushy?!

Anyway Lil’ H’s letter of the week is the letter C, that’s curly cuh, not kicking cuh to be clear!  To support this weeks letter of the week I have collected the following menagerie: 

We have a Crab, Caterpillar, Camel, Cow, Crocodile and Coconut – ok I know a Coconut isn’t a creature but it is amongst our things that begin with the letter C and no one else took a Coconut into pre-school!

The weeks Gallery post is brought to you by the letter C for Creatures, for more wonderful enteries check out the fabulous entries here