Living the dream we once whispered about

... Now we're here,
living the dream we once whispered about,
in the chaos we could never have imagined.

I came across this post recently and it so resonated. It's something I sometimes have to remind myself of – when the laundry pile gets too high and we didn't meal plan enough and now it's Wednesday at 4pm and we've no idea what's for dinner and everyone is tetchy, even the cat. This life was very much the one I wanted. And I don't say that to be smug or to minimise it's all-too-real challenges. But more as a reminder, that once, Ben and I dreamed and hoped and wished (and struggled) for this family, for this life of mess and chaos and fun.

In that spirit, here is a (laundry pile-free) highlights reel of family life these past few weeks.

Springtime in Barna Woods

It's been lovely to be back on the bike exploring after what feels like a very long winter. We recently cycled to Barna Woods for a bit of wild garlic foraging, and spotted some beautiful horses, Will Fogarty's incredible chainsaw sculptures and, of course, tons of glorious wild garlic.

And then she was three

We recently hosted a wee spring birthday party for Ada. It felt nice to pull all the spring decor out of storage, even if it was still pretty cold and rainy here in the west. My niece helped us decorate the cake and we 3D printed these wee flower spinners to give to her friends.

Real talk: it was all a bit overwhelming for her. Though we invited just three of her buddies, once you added in siblings and assorted (beloved!) grown ups, it was a bit too busy and lessons were learned for next year's celebrations.

Poetry tea time

We have been doing this on and off since Ari was very small, but it was so lovely to bring it back. I think I first learned about it in Julie Bogart's excellent book The Brave Learner.

The set-up is very simple: tea, some snacks and some poems; this time it was our much loved copy of Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright, but I sometimes get seasonal or themed poetry books from the library. Julie describes it as a collective "aaaah" amidst the busyness of day-to-day life and it's exactly that.