Week 10 of 52 weeks: The Princess has a Birthday
On Saturday, our little girl Orla celebrated her sixth Birthday. An exciting and fun filled event for her, and a poignant and deeply meaningful one for Daddy and me. It’s been a hectic, fun, terrifying, exhausting, joyful, wonderful, terrible, fantastic and eventful, journey. This little person whom our lives revolve around, and we could not live without her.
We reminisced the night before of the events of six years ago. The tricky pregnancy, the joys, the fears and expectations. Then, the mad dash to hospital, the 21 hour labour and nightmare epidural that ultimately resulted in an emergency c-section where my lovely husband sat and watched his wife be operated on for six hours, whilst clutching his baby girl and wondering what the future would hold for them both, possibly without me. Not the labour we both hoped for, harrowing for the most part, but some laughs were had. Then the long recovery; colic, then teething, her illnesses and on an on and on and on and on and on. It’s been quite a journey to say the least.
And, we would do it ALL again in a heartbeat….oh yes we would. Happy Birthday my Orla, we love you.
P.s. I will write up her birthday party in the next post.
Week 9 of 52 Weeks: Kites, Friends and Blue Sky
There is nothing that will lift the spirits of the great British public quicker after a long, cold, wet and interminably grey winter tham some blue sky and a little sun.
Today, Orla and I met up with family friends, Simon, Nicky and Ella for an afternoon in the village park, and Simon brought Ella’s kite. Watching the girls fly the kite, run round the park, their faces glowing with healthy exercise and laughter cheered me up more than I can express.
Week 7th of 52 Weeks: Ballet Bunnies
Orla’s ballet show was on Saturday at Chichester Festival Theatre. Two shows a matinee and evening performance. Orla’s group were bunnies in the ‘Peter Rabbit’ piece. We were there from 10.00 am until 9.00 pm.
Exciting, exhausting, frustrating and wonderful, it was a very long day, but all in all a good one. Here is a little picture I snapped with my mobile. I am using this one for my 52 Weeks project. It was the only one that didn’t show the faces of the other children (thereby protecting their privacy) and also I was so bloody busy (as a chaperone tidying, organising, feeding, taking to the toilet, dressing costumes, entertaining and keeping in line a big group of very little girls), I didn’t have time to take any more.
Orla acquitted her self very well. Alas I did not see the show, as I was needed backstage more. But, Daddy saw both shows. Lots of ‘freestyling’ from Orla apparently. Our friend Carol came to see Orla dance and told me she was a little star, as they all were.
The dance school only put on the show ever two years (thank God). Will I do it again? Who knows, probably. It was certainly an experience and I was able to get to know some of the others Mothers better, which was good (as Daddy does the Saturday ballet run generally).
The most important thing though, was that Orla had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed herself, and that made it all worthwhile for me.
School Project Mark II
Another school project which necessitated a days worth of frantic sewing on my part, Super Hero Day. Despite that, it was loads of fun, and she loved it to bits, and of course looked gorgeous.
Orla Superhero
Orla Superhero
School Project Mark I
Have you ever seen that ‘Grumpy Old Women‘ episode where they talk about the ‘letters from school’ and having to make things for school projects? Costumes, cakes, makes etc, and the terror of looking in the school bag to find yet another letter from the school asking for this that and the other. Contributions for this, help to make that, donations for this, cartoons, carboard, this list is endless…
Well, a few weeks ago I was handed a blue piece of cloth, and a letter explaining that we needed to make a collage hand for a community project in which all finished hands would be put together to make one big collage. We had to use the blue square with which they had supplied us, and we could then use anything else we wanted. Fabric, paper, glitter, all sorts.
Being a creative person, I had lots of good ideas, but then like most things in my life, I left it to the last minute. So, realising the deadline was upon me, I pinned down my protesting daughter, drew around her hand (so I could at least with a clear conscience claim she had been involved), used the cutout as a stencil and used some pink felt for the hand shape. I Got some PVA from her craft box, and the day before the deadline start gluing on my stars and sequins, having used spray mount to affix the hand. That worked quite well. I left it for 24 hours, which I thought would be ample time for it to dry. It did indeed dry, however, when I lifted my square, all the stars and sequins started to fall off. I then re glued again with craft glue. Left it for two hours, went back..again everything fell off.
By this time I was getting desperate as I had only an hour to go before I had to hand it over, the deadline having all ready been and gone. Frantically I rushed upstairs to my studio and got my very expensive (only to be used for serious art work) pot of Golden Matte Gel Medium. I got some more glue, and carefully stuck my stars (beginning to look a little worse for wear) and sequins down and painted the gel medium over the the top, then somewhat haphazardly and over enthusiastically covered it in glitter, it actually worked a treat.
I left it pinned to the line to dry and carefully carried it to the school and handed it over with nary a backwards glance, relieved to be rid of it.
It was a stressful day all told and am so looking forward to my next school project.
Hand for school project
Hand for school project
Lorrie Whittington
Visual Artist and Designer
Chichester, UK
