A Nicholson Autumn
We've had a wonderful few months filled with family activities, sweeties, crafts, lazy days and more sweets! The back end of September wasn't too busy for us. We started having weekly shopping trips with Mark working at better hours and driving us to the city before and after. I managed to get ahead on some of the Christmas shopping and snapped up some great bargains for my babies. Some chillier days crept up on us so I decided it might be best to order in some coats, hats and gloves for everyone. H&M proved to be the ideal place for finding reasonably priced, cosy-wear for my little ones. They now have matching coats with fur trim hoods to keep them warm this winter.
The 30th of September proved to be a momentous day in our household! With both babies sleeping over at Nanny's house, I decided to tag along to Mark's work appointments (staying in the car of course). So we zig zagged around and somehow ended up in Falkirk! It was pitch black, freezing cold and not seeming like the smartest of ideas. But anything for some extra time with your spouse yeah?? So off he went into the cosy house of a lovely Irish woman who chatted to him for hours, whilst I turned into an icicle in the car! Luckily, I had a couple of coats to use as blankets, a box of quality street AND Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets = BLISS.
Dinner was yet to be had so when Mark emerged from the house with no sale (sad face) it felt only proper to check out where the nearest Nando's Restaurant was. And with one just 3 miles away, how could we say no? So off we went to fill our stomachs with some peri-peri chicken and upon entering the restaurant Mark realised something quite special: this was his 50th Nandos Restaurant. That's right - Mark had now visited 50 separate Nandos Restaurant's across the UK. Wow! He was ecstatic and I was ecstatic for him! So we of course had to tell our server who joined in our celebration and consequently gave us free desserts - yum!
October came around very quickly! A few days in and we were discussing costumes and decorations and really getting into the Halloween Spirit. On a week that we spent at my parents, I decided to venture into the 'attic of doom' with my brothers to see what treasures we could come up with. So up the shaky, metal ladders I went, trembling all the way and stopping now and then to check my brother was still holding them at the bottom. When I was a young girl I watched my brother Logan fall from a set of ladders. He hit his head so hard he was unconscious right up until the ambulance arrived - the ladder fear was born.
Arriving in one piece, my brothers and I ducked around the dark attic rummaging through boxes and digging through piles of objects. Just when I thought the quest had been in vain, the special stuff decided to start appearing. A beautiful Mamas & Papas Rocking Horse once belonging to my little brother Caleb is now often rode by my little Mark whilst I sing 'Horsey, Horsey don't you stop' over and over and over. A Tigger bouncy game sort of like Buckaroo, once belonging to myself and my siblings is now one of Lillie's favourite past-times and we never stop getting a fright when Tigger wakes up! We found so many wonderful things up there and I plan to go back soon for more.
The next weekend was spent in St Andrews at the aquarium. We absolutely loved walking around and looking at all the fish. We even got to pet a snake and have our picture taken with a giant spider! Lillie loved watching the seals get fed and baby Mark was quite taken by the meerkats. These kinds of family outings are my favourite and often remind me of my own childhood. We found a family ticket for the Aquarium on Itison which always proves great for cheap, family days out. Mark and I also spent a gorgeous day in Inverness and visited Loch Ness where we walked along the water for ages and tried to spy out the Monster which we both believe is real!
In the weeks leading up to Halloween I was working hard on my window display. The children have a playroom in our house with a huge window so I decided to decorate it to co-ordinate with seasons, holidays and special occasions. I decided to give the window a theme to match our costumes and since we planned to dress up as characters from 'The Wizard of Oz,' I went with an 'Over The Rainbow' theme. For weeks I worked on a rainbow paper chain and a long yellow brick road. I painted pumpkins like the characters we were dressing as and even placed some sparkly red shoes in the window. I was really proud of how it turned out!
It gave me a good excuse to sit down and do some Halloween crafts with Lillie. We made Pumpkins out of paper plates and Ghosts using her footprints (something Baby Mark could participate in too). I love painting and making crafts with my girl so this was a really fun Autumn activity.
We decided to start our own tradition of going to pick a pumpkin at a farm every year. So we went with Lillie's cousin Levi to Cairnie fruit farm. Its a gorgeous little farm just a couple of miles outside of Cupar. It has great picnic spots, a big park and a huge maze. Whilst Baby Mark was sleeping in the car with daddy on watch, Lillie and I went down to the pumpkin patch and picked ourselves two gorgeous pumpkins: a pretty white one and bright coloured orange one with a long stock. We finished the day off with hot soup and tasty bread. Our Halloween party was so much fun too! We played pumpkin bowling, pass the pumpkin, dooking for apples and we even got the chance to wrap Grandad up in toilet roll like a mummy!
The week before Halloween we were very blessed to have four young African girls stay at our home. They were part of a singing choir touring the UK and we had met them last year and grown to love them tremendously. We had a fantastic experience with them and I plan to write a post all about it so watch this space.
And now its the 16th of November??? The Birthday Month is upon us! How on earth did we get here already? Our month has started out dazzlingly! Mark has been working a lot more in Glasgow which has given myself and my babies the perfect excuse to visit our family on the West Coast a lot more often. We spent many days in the first week of November staying with my grandparents. We went shopping and took the kids to soft play. On the 4th we went down to the local firework display and we absolutely loved it! It was freezing and sparkly and wonderful! We went home, drank hot chocolate and did some sparklers. Lillie was fearless!
The next night we did some PG fireworks in the back garden which were so much fun. We spent time with my aunt and my brothers and the whole experience just made my heart warm. The occasion of course called for more sparklers and more hot chocolate! And now we are just cruising through the birthdays and soaking it all in. This weekend we plan to celebrate my brother's 21st and my 22nd! The following week both my Mark's will be turning a year older and it tugs on my heartstrings:
1. Because my little Mark is going to be a year old and this has without a doubt been the quickest year of my life. He was just a tiny baby yesterday? My Lillie didn't grow as fast as this?
And 2. My big Mark is going to be 29. Which means next year he will be 30?!! Which means old man o'clock! Okay so not really old but in comparison to 22 year old me? He's getting there! On the bright side I will always look healthy and young next to him. Happy birthday babe!
And Happy Autumn everyone - love The Nicholson's. x
