Time Flies...

I am back to work next week, after six months of maternity leave. So much has happened in what seems like a flash. On Valentines day we were married, Alfie arrived in March, April saw his first smiles, we enjoyed hot sunshine in June, in July Olivia left nursery and by August Alfie cut his first tooth and Olivia has begun to learn to read. It has been a wonderful time and I can't pretend that I'm all that overjoyed at the prospect of returning to work but then again I've been vomited on three times today and however bad it is teaching teenagers in the last eleven years none of them have ever been sick on me...

Here's to the next part of the adventure x

Perfect, perfect words from Sonya

LOVE

I hadn't met his kind before.
His misericord face - really
like a joke on his father - blurred
as if from years of polish;
his hands like curled dry leaves;

the prolifigate heat he gave
out, gave out, his shallow,
careful breaths: I thought
his filaments would blow,
I thought he was an emporer,

dying on silk cushions.
I didn't know how to keep
him wrapped, I didn't know
how to give him suck, I had
no idea about him. At night

I tried to remember the feel
of his head on my neck, the skull
small as a cats, the soft spot
hot as a smelted coin,
and the hair, the down, fine

as the innermost, vellum layer
of some rare snow creature's
aureole of fur, if you could meet
such a beast, if you could
get so near. I started there.

Kate Clanchy

(Sonya, you have inspired me with these lovely words to take out a new poetry book every time we visit the library, I have been leaving them in the loo because that's the only time I have to myself - poo and culture, ah a mother's life! Love you x)

Alfie Jim

Eleven days late, but worth waiting for... Alfie Jim arrived on 19 March at quarter past nine, weighing in at 8lbs. He is utterly gorgeous and as you can see even his big sister has fallen for his charms.

Here's hoping for a good sleep tonight x