On Wednesday morning I woke up to find myself in October. Now, I know it shouldn't be much of a shock after all the calendar has been in place for hundreds of years, but I still found myself a bit staggered when it happened. For the whole summer I was always assuming that life would calm down when it got to September and school started again, but instead the opposite has happened. Things have become more than a bit crazy instead. I thought things were going to be a bit more straightforward. Master C started going to nursery two days a week at the start or the month (instead of just the one ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 7 – Shopping and Classics on the Common
I'm still playing catch up somewhat with our holiday diary, but at the same time I'm determined to make sure I don't miss a day. Day 7, Wednesday, was one of those days where we didn't do a huge amount, but when we did do things we seemed to be so involved in it that there weren't many photos. Most of the day was spent at home with the kids, save for a precious couple of hours in the afternoon when my MIL came round to look after the children for a couple of hours whilst I went to Welwyn and spent a John Lewis gift voucher that she'd bought me for my birthday. It was very strange being out ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 6 – Birthday party, upcycling and vintage sewing patterns
As I feared, time is starting to run away from me somewhat and I'm already starting to wonder what it was we did a couple of days ago. After the excitement on Luton on Monday, Tuesday was intended as a bit of a quieter day at home, punctuated by a lunchtime birthday party for both children at the kind invitation of one of Little Miss C's school friends. The party was held in a Scout hut in a part of St Albans that I'm not at all familiar with (and hence I discovered a fantastic new playground next door too), and as we were still blessed with gorgeous hot weather here it was particularly ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 5 – Fun in Luton
Yes, you did read that title correctly, and no it's not one that I ever expected to write either. When I started keeping track of what we're getting up to this summer I did realise that we couldn't go out and do an amazing day trip every day, and nor did I want to. Sometimes the simplest of things can be the most rewarding, and sometimes something that might have appeared very mundane actually turns out to be quite exciting. We started today without any real plans and the only things that we had to get done were to get some food shopping in and to buy a birthday present for a little boy ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 1 – Crafts and contradictions
It's funny how just yesterday morning we were getting up to do yet another school run, yet this morning school runs almost felt like they were in another lifetime. Little Miss C has fully embraced the idea of getting up and not having to put her school uniform on and in that sod's law kind of way she bounced out of bed without any encouragement at 7.15am and by 7.30 was dressed and raring to go. School morning's normally take lots of me hurrying her along and yet the morning I don't need her to get up on time she does! Thursday is the girls day here as Master C goes off to nursery for ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 0 – School’s out for summer!
Well that's it. Final school run done. Book bag assigned to the cupboard. School uniform all in the laundry basket Cute teddy bear gift from her teacher (another example of just how much I love this school!) cuddled up in bed with her as she's drifted off to sleep. Little Miss C's first year at our local infant school and her time as a pre-schooler is finished. Whist in a way I did feel a bit sad dropping her off for the last time this morning to the pre-school class room I also shared the excitement that she felt for what is to come. A summer "playing with my toys" and "lots of sleep and ... read more
Doing a grand job
Thank you for all your kind words after my outpouring of frustration on here the other day. Things can seem pretty bleak when you're sleep deprived and stuck at home with a poorly one, whilst also having to balance the needs of their sister, plus work obligations. There's no such thing as time off when you're self employed and in the middle of trying to remortgage your house! I'm delighted to say that Master C finally seems to be over the sickness bug that knocked him low for a week. As a result his general mood has improved significantly, making life somewhat easier. Eating is still a ... read more
When things aren’t as you imagined
I tend to keep this blog a happy place. To write about the nicer things in life rather than the mundane day to day. At the moment though the day to day is taking over somewhat and to be honest we're struggling with it. The thing is about 10 months ago Master C became difficult. I never expected life with two small children to be a walk in the park, and at first just put all our problems down to "a phase" but nearly a year later I'm definitely thinking that this is no phase. It's not just a few things either. By now his behaviour is completely ruling our life and making things pretty ... read more
BritMums Live and beyond to Red Bull
Last weekend saw over 500 bloggers descend on central London for BritMums Live! 2014. I enjoyed last year's conference so much that I booked a ticket for 2014 just a few hours after getting home. Once again it didn't fail to disappoint, but at the same time I think I have moved on a bit since then, and my blogging certainly has too. As well as being an excellent opportunity to meet up with other bloggers the conference featured some really useful sessions which I felt that I learnt a huge amount from. My notebook is full of plans for a new blog design, ideas on how to use Pinterest better ... read more
And that was that!
The house is quiet. Little Miss C is finally back at school and her brother is upstairs napping. At my side is a cup of some special tea that the bloke in the local health food shop convinced me to buy this morning. For the first time in about three weeks I'm as close to feeling calm as I have ever done since having children. The Easter holidays are over and despite there being some highs I have to say that boy was that tough! And now I've managed to speak too soon. Master C has magically woken from his nap a whole hour earlier than usual and despite not going to sleep until gone 10 ... read more