At the beginning of the year I put together a bucket list of forty things which I hoped to achieve or to make a start upon throughout the year. I have since looked back and reflected upon this list (see below) and hope to create and to continue a further list for 2019. To lose a further stone in weight through a healthy diet and exercise – I didn’t lose a stone exactly but I continued to chip away at the ounces, though by Christmas I had piled the pounds back on. I guess this is something to continue working upon throughout 2019.…
So after all the hustle and bustle, Christmas has come and gone. We had an amazing day and the kids were overjoyed as they were both spoilt rotten by family, friends and of course Santa Claus. I couldn’t believe the amount of parcels which were piled high in our living room, I have however found home for each and every gift which was a satisfying surprise. Most of the bulk came from the endless amounts of packaging, which considering that our planet is currently drowning in a sea of plastic was pretty worrying. You’d think that being in an age in which is we are environmentally aware, we’d be doing away with plastic by now but almost everything was wrapped and secured in plastic, all of which I felt mightily guilty throwing away.…
Gosh, time sure flies by these days. It feels like only yesterday that I was writing the first post of the year for the #LivingArrows series, and here we are at week fifty-two already! The kids have had a fun-filled, festive week. They have spent the past week counting down to Christmas whilst taking part in three amazing school shows. Both J & E knocked our socks off as they shone like stars (or starfish in J’s case) on stage. The kids were brimming with confidence, they were quite literally all-singing, all-dancing superstars. It was an honour to be part of their production and to watch their work develop from a script into a show. …
With less than twenty-four hours until Santa makes his deliveries, we’ve been, busy, busy. I’ve spent time cooking, cleaning and prepping for a family buffet whilst the kids have enjoyed endless amounts of festive television. I made my annual twenty-four mince pies and Delia Smith’s Squidgy Chocolate Log, both of which turned out to be pretty impressive this year! As is tradition, we then sat as a family to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol, we’ve watched it that many times that both Paul and I were able to repeat the film word for word. It was then time to pop open the vino and to catch up with my in-laws whilst stuffing ourselves with buffet bits.…
Whilst on the drive back from our mad dash out to town, Paul and I couldn’t help but to notice the beautiful cloud formations which seemed to be blanketing the combe. It looked as if winter had rolled in and the hillsides were snuggling under a duvet of thick, fluffy cloud cover for warmth. Do you ever take the time to look at the clouds and to make shapes or patterns from them? I could spend hours looking up into the sky making out all kinds of shapes, animals, patterns all kinds of fluffy wonders. It sure is chilly out and I’m sure that it wont be too long before the clouds are replaced by snow.…
We have finally reached the end of term, after eight solid weeks of slogging hard both the kids and I are shattered. It’s a relief to have a break from the homework, the lunch boxes, the shoe cleaning, the bag packing and the early mornings. It’s been a busy, busy week! The kids have completed all three of their star-studded Christmas shows. I cannot express how proud of them I am. Both J & E gave it their all, they were all singing, all dancing and simply stunning on stage. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of it all and to see it develop from a script into the most amazing show.…
It’s been a whirlwind of a week, we have barely stopped to catch our breath. Both the kids and us adults are completely and utterly exhausted, we are most definitely on count down to the end of term, though even then it’s going to be busy as there’s still so much to get done before the big day. J and I took a little time out earlier this week, we snuggled on the sofa and enjoyed a Christmas movie together. It’s been a while since I’ve taken time out on a one-to-one basis with J, we simply haven’t had the opportunity until now.…
It’s not often that I see sunrise, if ever at all to be honest. I’m certainly no early bird, I for one would never catch any worm, not that I’d ever want to either for that matter. My husband on the other hand seems to enjoy waking early, he is from farming stock and can handle the early mornings, he therefore takes the dog on her morning stroll before I’ve even contemplated dividing myself from the duvet. Heres a snapshot he captured the other week whilst out on his usual ponder with the pooch. This picture simply doesn’t do justice to the colours which were in the sky that morning, I saw for myself albeit from the warmth of my windowsill.…
Talk about treacherous, the weather last night went from bad to worse. I was half expecting to wake to a garden without a greenhouse. Thankfully the trampoline held on tight and whilst the deck chairs had flown across the lawn, the damage was minimal. Paul very kindly put things back into their rightful place then we proceeded with our day. I began by taking E along to her friends birthday party, I was therefore required to sit and make polite parental conversation for two hours whilst covertly sniping snacks to keep my hunger at bay. Whilst some parents are happy to leave their little ones, I’m still a little on the apprehensive side when it comes to E.…
Whilst Christmas is just around the corner (crikey it’s less than ten days away now!) I’m feeling far from festive at present. I’m chocka-block with cold and am totally and utterly run down. I’ve spent the past three weeks suffering with an endless bout of bugs and quite frankly I’m fed up with myself. To lift my spirits and to get me back onto the festive bandwagon, I’ve asked Alexa to play me a range of ‘holiday hits’. If there’s one way (or anyway at all for that matter) to pull me through, it’s almost always through the media of Music.…
After a rather kind offer from my Father-in-law to have our crazy kids for the day, Paul and I took ourselves for a fifty minute drive into town to finish off our Christmas shopping. I wasn’t exactly enthralled about the idea of trawling around town, don’t get me wrong I love Christmas but I will openly admit that unless it’s online, I completely and utterly detest shopping. Having looked at a range of weather apps last night, I was well-aware that bad weather was to be expected. I knew that there was ‘snow-way’ that we’d see the white stuff, being on the coast we very rarely get snow.…
Following an extremely busy day, the kids and I ventured out on what became a ‘Santa hunt’. Whilst Santa would usually make a visit to our house, this year we were a little preoccupied with dance rehearsals, hair appointments, shopping sprees and all kinds of crazy capers. After finally finishing for the day, we then hopped into the Mini and had our very own adventure hunting for Santa. There was absoloutly no way on this Earth that I letting my little ones miss out on a visit from the big man. After following Santa’s usual route we eventually came across his sleigh, it was pretty hard to miss given that it gave Blackpool illuminations a run for it’s money, that and the Christmas music (which was blaring incredibly loudly from his sleigh) was a bit of a give away.…
We haven’t been out much given that the weather has been so vile of late, that and I’ve spent the past fortnight suffering with sinusitis so severe that I felt much-like I’d taken a hit from a frying pan to the face. I have therefore opted to share a rather sweet shot taken earlier this week, a photo of our beautiful basset hound Maisy sat by the Christmas tree, her first Christmas tree to be precise. This you see will be Maisy’s first Christmas, she’s only ten months old and whilst we are quite accustomed to decorating the house with baubles, tinsels and all kinds of glittery and glamorous Christmas delights, our dog isn’t entirely sure what it’s all about.…
It’s got to that time of the year when my husband has started to fashion a look of panic on his face. That’s right folks, it’s almost time for him to try and remember my Amazon details, so that he can actually locate a list of ideas to save him the present purchasing stress. Most blokes tend to hit the high street at around 2-3pm on Christmas Eve, my husband however has learnt from experience that shopping on Christmas Eve is far from festive nor enjoyable by any measure. I have therefore taken the time to put together a rather elaborate wish list, ranging from the ridiculous to the affordable and easy options.…
It’s been a while since I’ve sat at my laptop with the time to write, I feel as if my blogging days are beyond me at present. I miss kicking back at the keyboard with the time to think and to reflect through the written word. I’m currently curled up on the bed wrapped in my bath towels, the kids are fast asleep (as far as I’m aware) and I’m finally able to unwind following what was intended to be a relaxed and laid back weekend. As always in this household, there was plenty to do and with Christmas ebbing ever closer, I’m keen to get as many of the jobs ticked off the list as possible.…
As you may have noticed, I’m a tad late in writing this weeks #LivingArrows post. I have been that ill I was simply unable to do anything other than collapse on the couch and rest my way to recovery. Thankfully I’m feeling a little better today, I’m not entirely 100% but I’m doing my very best to stay on two feet and to work my way through the week. The kids have been a god send, they’ve seen how poorly I’ve been over the weekend and they have both been so understanding, caring and considerate. I really do have the perfect pair of children, this was more than apparent as they very kindly dressed and decorated our Christmas tree without a single whinge, whine or wail.…
As of this evening, Christmas has officially arrived in our household. Poor Paul spent an hour looking for a plug for the tree lights (which turned out to be in the bag where I thought it was in the first place) then a further hour and a half fixing and soldering the flipping tree lights. Having wasted at least half of the day, I was half tempted to take the tree and its lights and lob the lot into the bin. Obviously, I’d have replaced the tree and the lights with a higher-quality alternative. Unfortunately I’d already promised the kids that they could decorate the tree today (why exactly I did that I’m not sure).…
I swore blind that I would never, EVER get myself involved with an Elf. I always thought that the whole idea of ‘Elf on the Shelf’ was rather creepy. Some little guy that watches you and reports back to Santa seemed far too much-like Big Brother gone bonkers! Yet here we are, however many years down the line, with our very own elf. My colleagues somehow convinced me that ‘buying an Elf’ would be a good idea and they weren’t wrong, as both J & E were elated to find an Elf had arrived. Along with the Elf came a letter instructing the kids to decide upon a name for the funny little fella.…
It has been yet another manic month, each and every day brings yet more things to be done and yet more places to go. Whilst I’m all for keeping busy – there is busy and then there is BUSY. I haven’t stopped for a second, other than to eat, wash, sleep or the essential. Both Paul and I are living by lists, whether that be shopping lists or task lists, there seems to be a never-ending realm of things to consider and to complete. November has certainly kept us on our toes, here are a few of the things which I have #LikedandLoved over the past thirty days or so.…
These past few months have been none-stop, we’ve done something almost every weekend and have found ourselves occupied with endless appointments, parties, meetings, after-school activities, clubs and goodness knows what else throughout the week. Both Paul and I are exhausted, I’m pretty sure that the kids feel likewise. Life is most definitely busy, I barely get time to blog these days although try my best to keep up wherever and whenever I can. We’ve enjoyed both days and nights out together as family, we’ve certainly played and partied hard. With it being the run up to Christmas, I highly doubt that we will have much time to relax before the big day.…
