Twins!

I had some great news at the weekend - my friend Sandra gave birth to two adorable baby girls on Saturday. She and her husband Clive couldn’t be more delighted. They’ve wanted a baby for some time and now they have two! I visited Sandra in the hospital yesterday and I’ve never seen her look so happy. She was positively glowing with joy.

I’ve known Sandra about fifteen years now and Clive for about eight. I met Sandra at a bar while on holiday in Rhodes. She was a little worse for wear and had lost her friends, so my friends and I adopted her for the evening and made sure she was all right. We got on really well all night and then the next day I found out that she lived just around the corner from me back home in Garstang! We arranged to meet up when we got home and our friendship developed from there.  

Anyway, when Sandra gets out of hospital Clive is going to throw a small welcome home party for her and the girls and I persuaded him to let me help organise it. I love organising parties – it’s almost as much fun as attending them.

Ben and I have already given Sandra and Clive a cute congratulations card, but we had a little trouble deciding what presents to get for the girls. Ben was set on buying a couple of Mayoral pink dummy chain with wooden beads, which I liked a lot, but I had in mind buying something for the girls to wear. When I was browsing through the Cachet Kids website I spotted an absolutely adorable Mayoral baby girl’s pink and white sailor dress with a cute little bow that I thought would be perfect, but then Ben found some equally adorable baby girl’s white frilly sock shoes in a gift pack and we couldn’t decide what to choose. In the end we decided to get them all!

I also have some good news about Crissy – last year she was struggling with her English at school, so I arranged for her to have one to one tutoring using a tutor from Tutor Doctor and her grades have been much better this year. So as a reward we bought her some gorgeous Pretty Originals girl’s white shoes, which she absolutely loves. I find that when it comes to my children's education, nothing works better than bribery!

Dina's Christening!

It’s been a really special day today – my lovely niece Dina was christened. Judy and Dimitris wanted it to be an intimate affair, so only close family and friends were invited; and I think that helped to make the occasion all the more special. (They’re going to visit Greece in a few weeks to have a second ceremony for Dimitris’ family.)

Dina looked absolutely adorable in a beautiful silk heirloom christening gown (which came with a free keepsake bag), baby girl’s special occasion scallop pattern ivory socks with bow and Sarah Louise ivory christening shoes, all wrapped up in a frilly ivory shawl with ivory lace trims and sequins. Seeing that cute bundle made me feel all broody again!

The ceremony was held at Saint Mary and St. Michael’s Church just outside of Garstang. To be more precise, it’s located over the river Wyre in Bonds with Barnacre, close to the Bowland Fells. It’s a gorgeous church dating back to1858, located in beautiful countryside. I’m so lucky to live in this part of the world.

The christening went very well, with hardly a peep out of Dina (she’s so good natured) and I was fortunate enough to be one of the godparents, along with my brother Dave. Afterwards we all went back to Judy’s house, where she and Dimitris had laid on a fantastic buffet, including lots of delicious Greek delicacies; I was particularly taken with a honey and baklava sweet, which I hadn’t tried before but will definitely try again!

It was good to be among close friends and family, catching up on all the latest gossip. (Apparently Uncle Jim is in the process of becoming a publican, which I’m sure will end badly: it’s like putting a mouse in charge of a cheese factory!) And it was nice to look through the vast array of christening gifts that Dina and Dimitris were given. My favourites have to be: a Mayoral baby girl’s cute bunny rabbits shorts set given by Dave and Liz and a DolcePetit baby girl’s beige polka dots ruffle dress set with red bow given by one of Judy's friends. Dina will look so adorable in them.