It's that time again for ARTEFACT MOTHERHOOD - a project shared with other international female artists who are documenting our journeys as mothers and creating memories for our children through our photographs and words. Have a read through mine and then go check out the next amazing artist in our blog circle!

I didn't get much sleep last night. Forrest, you had a wee accident and after I cleaned that up I just couldn't fall back to sleep and when I did finally fall asleep you kept half waking me up for the rest of the night into the morning wanting to nurse. A complete contrast to yesterday where I felt I got one of the best night's sleep ever!  You all slept in until after 8. I just laid in bed with you guys relaxing. Eventually we all made our way downstairs into the kitchen and I made us some porridge. Then I managed to do some morning exercising while the two of you did some of your cosmic yoga. It's so sweet seeing you, Forrest really joining in now and having a real go at all of the poses. Afterwards you convinced Nixie to give you loads and loads of piggybacks, it's one of your favourite things in the world!

Once I got dressed I reminded the two of you that we were going on our first bumblebee walk of the year and as soon as these words flowed out of my mouth, Nixie, you burst into tears  because you had hoped we were going to have a girlie day today. I felt really bad as I knew we really needed to have some one on one time together because the last couple of days we've been jarring with each other a lot and it's made my heart feel pretty heavy. I suggested we go on our walk and then we go and do something together just the two of us and you liked that idea and hurried to get ready. You decided to dress yourself in head to toe yellow, even painting your nails yellow because you thought it would help attract the bumblebees. 

Before heading out daddy went to post your (Nixie) birth certificate since annoyingly our reference for your ID for your passport was declined. While he did that we decided to paint our eggs for our little nest which was one of the activities in our little naturalist club.

When we finished with our eggs, daddy was back and we could finally go do our first official bumblebee walk for the bumblebee conservation trust. We actually set up a transect last summer but never got our act together but this year we are doing it properly. But I wasn’t prepared for how cold it was going to be!! it was freezing!! Uncomfortably so, my hands ached from the cold. And we didn’t see a single bumblebee, not even one. Forrest, you discovered some bull thistle and as soon as you saw it you excitedly wanted me to see. You thought it looked amazing. We did our loop and ended up on the seawall and you forrest kept wanting to walk right on the edge making me a bit nervous. There were signs of spring everywhere!! We saw lots of buds, even stingy nettle which made us all feel a bit excited.  Nixie you picked up some wet sludgy grasses and were trying to make them into your own nest. Forrest, you are still obsessed with gorse and love eating it. Nixie, you have the sweetest heart and straight away went looking for my favourite shell, the scallop. As cold as it was, the wind chill and being by the rougher sea felt nice. Forrest you love to walk backwards even if it takes you 5 times as long to get anywhere. Eventually we made it to our little beach which we haven't been to in a long while! Ever since I got my licence we haven't been coming here as much and instead have been exploring other places. We had a quick little walk along it searching for treasures until the cold just got too much for us and we headed back to the car. You & Forrest got into an argument about which path to take to the car, Nixie, you wanted to go one way and Forrest you wanted to go another so in the end you, Nixie and I went the way next to the water while Forrest, you and daddy went the straight path to the road. 

While we were away our new moth home arrived and we immediately put it together and put our cocoons into it. We are having a go at rearing emperor moths! I am so excited to see if they will emerge, I really hope they do. 

Afterwards you, Nixie and I had some one-on-one time which was incredibly needed and as we headed out to the car what did we see?!?! Our very first bumblebee of the year which made us both jump up and down with excitement! We’ve really had a rough couple of days together and we really needed to clear the air and start fresh. We went and played mini golf, and had such an amazing time.You are getting better and better and I love playing with you, even if it did feel really cold. It brings me back to when I was a kid because it’s something I used to do with my mamma a lot. 

Afterwards we dropped off the car back home and walked down the high street. It being the saturday market you hoped the man selling crystals was there and begged me to let you get one. You’ve now added a beautiful labradorite to your collection along with a beautiful rose quartz bracelet. Afterwards we headed to our favourite cafe, Coffee & Drift and had a little lunch. We both had their super yummy vegan sausage rolls and you had hot chocolate and I had my favourite turmeric latte. You love sitting in the tall chairs looking out into the marina. We were having such a lovely time together and my heart was feeling happy. You kept just snuggling into me and looking up at me in a way that just made me remember how I felt when I first laid my eyes on you.

When we got home the boys were happy to see us but didn't hear us knocking on the door. They were upstairs snuggling reading stories. They also played with slime and kinetic sand while we were away. It was such a cold and gloomy day and it made our house seem very dark.  The rest of the evening was spent doing some chores which included me helping daddy sort out our big bag of mismatched socks, I have no idea where they go?!?! While we were busy with the big task, Nixie, you were downstairs singing and dancing away to encanto. I came down to check on you guys and realised that you had set up my phone camera so that it was recording you dancing, I love that you did that!

EVentually it was dinner time and daddy decided to make vegan macaroni and cheese, something that you, Nixie, had been requesting. Forrest you jumped at the chance to help and I love how recently you have taken such a big interest in helping in the kitchen. You just love it. Tonight you learned how to make your first roux. After dinner was made you and daddy made your famous batch of hummus. It ended up being pretty late once we actually sat down to eat so pretty much directly afterwards we headed up to get ready for bed.

Forrest, you are being really funny, for the last few days you’ve started putting on daddy’s glasses and pretending you are him. At the moment it is the only way you will let me brush your teeth. I have to call you Kevin and ask you questions about your day, “how was your day today?” you’ll say, “it was nice” and then i’ll ask, “what did you do today?” and you’ll respond “worked on the computer.” and then I’ll ask what was the worst part of your day and you’ll say “coming home”. Daddy doesn’t agree with this at all and thinks this version of himself has got his priorities all wrong! 

Once teeth were brushed it was stories and dreamtime.

Go next to the wonderful artist Kirsty Larmour in our Artefact Motherhood Project to read her post in our blog circle.