14 years ago....

you made me a mother.

Your life so far has been quite a journey and it is only just beginning.

So 14 things from a mother perspective about you.

You have always known your own mind

Since 2 years old you have wanted to be a big brother (and kept asking until it happend)

You adore and love your little brother

Since 4 years old you have wanted a dog - sorry mate, aint happening!

You can do anything you put your mind to

You have a great heart

You are caring and thoughtful of others

You are also a teenage nightmare at times

You are loved and love equally back

Family and friends are important to you

You are super smart and when you are ready, the world is yours for the taking

You are bilingual in the true sense

I am proud of the person you are and excited about the person you will continue to grow into

oh, by the way - did I tell you I love you today;)

Happy birthday beautiful boy - I love you to the moon and back

xxxx

The Boys Perspective on Mum

Saturday night Fun in our house  -  invovled doing a quiz I saw on Facebook with Tim.

Without ANY prompting, ask your child these questions and write down EXACTLY what they say. It is a great way to find out what they really think. When you re-post put your Child's age.

His answers were fab!! I decided to ask Tae this morning too, so here is their perspective on Mummy.

Photo is the latest of them both from 17th May!

Tim will be 14 in 2 weeks and Tae is 6 and a half. The boys did not know what the other had said.

1. What is something mom always says to you? 

Tim: “Have I told you that I love you today”

Tae: " I love you"

2. What makes mom happy? 

Tim: “Happy children”

Tae: "When I draw a picture for you"

3. What makes mom sad? 

Tim: “Me and Marius misbehaving”

Tae: "I don't know"

4. How does your mom make you laugh? 

Tim: “Says really corny things or jokes”

Tae: " When you say 'Trumpy boy - lol"

5. What was your mom like as a child? 

Tim: “I know she had glasses”

Tae: "a girl baby"

6. How old is your mom? 

Tim: “43” 

Tae: "14"

7. How tall is your mom? 

Tim: “167cm”

Tae: "big"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? 

Tim: “Relax on the sofa with a beer” (me =oops)

Tae: "jobs" (Tim wins;)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? 

Tim:“No idea to be honest”

Tae: She's sad because she misses me"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? 

Tim: “Giving birth to me! lol” 

Tae: I don't know"

11. What is your mom really good at? 

Tim: “Being a mum”

Tae: "Doing jobs, Im good at things as well as I'm getting bigger!"

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Tim:  “Electronical stuff” 

Tae: Doing computers"

13. What does your mom do for a job? 

Tim: “She is a teacher for Spes Ped things” (A good Norlish sentence!)

Tae: "Doing food, cleaning, computers and painting and you make breaskfast as well" (that is about right;)

14. What is your mom's favorite food? 

Tim: “Baccaula and chiili con carne” (food I like and eat with friends as that kids do not like!)

Tae: "Eggs"

15.What makes you proud of your mom? 

Tim: “Her braveness and willpower” - (Ok he is getting some points here, lol!!)

Tae " The race" (we ran together)

16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? 

Tim: “No idea” 

Tae: "Mickey Mouse"

17. What do you and your mom do together? 

Tim: “Stuff - everything I guess, alot of things” 

Tae:"Have a race and we collect sticks" (gardening)

18. How are you and your mom the same? 

Tim: “We are not really very similar”

Tae: "We are not the same"

19. How are you and your mom different? 

Tim: “A lot of things”

Tae: "Different hair and eyes. I have black hair and you have brown"

20. How do you know your mom loves you? 

Tim: “She says it and gives me stuff and doesn't let me do bad things”

Tae: "Kisses and cuddles - like this (demonstrates). We love Tim as well"

21. What does (did) your mom like most about your dad? 

Tim: “His stubborness and his caring personality" 

Tae: "Because Daddy loved you" 

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? 

Tim: “Anywhere as long as it's with people she loves”

Tae: "Going into town"

23. How old was your Mom when you were born? 

Tim: “29”

Tae: I don't know - I was called Woo Tae Hyeong"

Loved that some of their answers are quite similar even given their age difference.

So the big picture:

My kids know they are loved

We are all very different and that is OK

I am busy doing lots of jobs as well as working and being a mum

Oh and I'm totally rubbish on computers and any technology - totally busted!!

Big News

I have made a decision. A BIG decision.

I have been considering it for a while. I had in fact, after weighing all the pros and cons firmly decided againt it in January.

Then .... pop....something just clicked in my head - I was obviously ready.

I changed my mind suddenly 2 weeks ago. The next day I started to plan and turn it into a reality.

I have decided to take a little time out. I just need to stop, regroup and breathe.

I applied and have been granted leave of absence from my job (the day after I decided).

It was an impulsive and decisive decision, but now it feels totally the right thing to do.

So what next...

I am selling my house and relocating the England for one year - no plan beyond that.

(and from a person with a slightly controlling nature this is huge)

Scary, yes, but necessary too.

The boys and I will initially move in with my sister and her family (because she is totally fab) and the boys will attend the local schools.

In the last two weeks I have started decluttering my house, appointed an estate agent, rented a storage locker, started cleaning and sorting my garden, painted some fences and sold my treadmill!!

Hopefully the house will be on the market within 5 weeks!!

That is an insane amount of work for a single working mother.

However, I've got this - I also have amazing friends.

and breathe........

Wordless Wednesday - Bergen 5.5km Family Affair!

(freezing and wet - but together we nailed it)

Wordless Wednesday - Family Photo!

February - Trip to England

Back during Winter Break in February, the boys and I headed to the UK for a quick 4 day visit to see my family.

We are getting good at catching the bus to the airport and doing self service check-in!

Tim especially loves checking in himself. I think he secretly believes he is 007!!

You have no idea how much fun my kids have on airport trolleys - I reckon Tae is getting a little too big to travel on the under rack now!

Once we got to the UK they had lots of fun with the cousins.

Tim and T (as usual) spent their time being teenagers locked away together with laptops and iPads.

We picked H up from school,

and then Tae and H played school at home.

There was quite a bit of shopping to be done including a new suit, smart boots, rugby boots, trainers and hoodies for a growing teenager. Little man got his fair too. 

The time flew and we had to head back to the airport to fly home.

Before leaving the UK I had to squeeze in a starbucks bacon buttie at the airport.

and a silly photo of the boys on the plane:)

Wordless Wednesday - Everyday March Moments

Hen Night - Norwegian Style

Well not exactly Norwegian style - more like my fabulous friends style.

Back in February, I packed my overnight bag, dropped the boys off with G and headed out for a night of fun with the girls.

All the ladies were instructed to bring warm clothes for a rustic cabin, sleeping bag and drinks.

When we arrived at the directions we were met by this....

Yes, is was February, in Norway and a Lavo (tent)! This was the sleeping accomodation. The social area was this...

Nice and cosy with a fire pit! 

We started off with a welcome drink, then were instructed to put on our head torches and off we went into the night.

After a little walk through the woods, we entered a cave, we went down a long passage until it opened up to a seating area and wine tasting experience with a difference!

A selection of nibbles were served with each wine.

Only my buddy I. could pull off fancy food in a cave in the middle of nowhere.

Once we had our wine course and starters we headed into the dark night on a treasure hunt, answering questions along the way about the bride (who was sporting a wonderful retro 80's wedding dress).

We headed back to the party tent (a whole new meaning of the word) for an amazing feast of beef, duck, chicken and reiendeer, served with oven baked almond potatoes, tzaziki, foccacia bread with creme brule for dessert!! Again what can I say - when your best friend is a chef life is always better;)

We partied into the early hours then stumbled with our head torches to the sleeping tent. It was quite a cool night in all sense of the word. We woke in the morning to snow on the ground!!

It was a great adventure and a perfect way to celebrate the soon to be wedding of a dear friend. 

Once we were up we had an amazing breakfast delivered by the local farmer.

Considering the night we had I think we do not too bad the next morning before we all headed home.

All photos are from my iPhone, not great, but capture the memory!!

Wordless Wednesday - Brothers