Things I Have Liked And Loved In January 2017

As part of the New Year I decided to take on some new challenges, one of which being the ‘Liked And Loved Linky‘ which I will be joining to share all the things that I have liked and loved throughout the month.

I really like to reflect upon the positives in life, as you know I already list a few of my #LittleLoves each week, from now on I will be expanding this by creating a kind of ‘happy list’ towards the end of each month.

So without further ado, here are the things that I have #LikedAndLoved in January.

New Years Day

For once I managed to make a decent festive meal without having a melt down. I somehow managed to cook a roast for seven without so much as a burnt Yorkshire Pud!

We usually take our Christmas decorations down on New Years Eve but this year we decided to keep them up for that extra day and it made all the difference.

It was so lovely to be able to sit down and to share a relaxing family meal with my in-laws, husband and children surrounded by twinkly lights and festive decor.

Somehow this year things just seemed to fall into place, we weren’t rushed, we weren’t stressed, the house was tidy, the kids were well behaved and we finished the day like most other families, by kicking back and watching a family movie barely able to move as we were that stuffed full of festive food.

Completing Decorating The Kids Rooms

Paul and I weren’t planning physically or financially to finish decorating the children’s rooms until at least mid-March. However, as we are both equally impatient we ploughed on throughout Christmas despite the festive chaos to strip and paint the walls in both of the children’s rooms.

By New Year the rooms had been painted and were ready for carpet. Unfortunately the carpet shop was shut until early January and we were made to wait until then before we could fully complete decorating the kids rooms.

It was so lovely to finally finish furnishing and decorating the children’s rooms, they both have a lot more space and as a result of their toys emigrating to their newly decorated bedrooms, the entire house feels more spacious.

The kids love their new rooms and seem to be spending a lot more time upstairs these days which feels really odd. I never thought that I would be able to be crack on with cooking tea or making a telephone call whilst the children played in their rooms. It seemed far too much like a fantasy yet here we are!

Completing Decorating And Furnishing The Office

Not only did we push ourselves to complete the kids rooms but we also transformed what was E’s old bedroom into our new Office. A quick lick of paint, a new pair of curtains and new lamp shade and it was pretty much done.

We have since furnished and accessorised the room to create a really lovely, minimalist, beach themed Office, a space which we have never before had to be able to sit and focus upon work with stationary and the correct equipment within reach.

Expanding My Linky

As you know, I run a weekly linky where bloggers can share up to two posts (new or old) each week. #TuesdayTreasures first began back in June 2016 and has since grown in popularity, which has resulted in me requiring an extra pair of hands.

Following attending Blog On I became great friends with Angela from ‘Adventures In Websterland‘. Angela somehow seems to be on the same wave length as me which is pretty incredible as my wave length is a pretty unusual frequency and we share similar feelings and thoughts towards the whole blogging ‘thang’.

It seemed a fairly simple decision to choose Angela as that extra pair of hands to help out with the #TuesdayTreasures linky. Since we have started working together this month the linky has become even more popular and with time will hopefully continue to develop and grow.

A Day Out With My Wonderful Nieces

My beautiful niece turned seven-years old last week. To celebrate her birthday we all jumped into the car and drove to a trampoline park where the older kids had great fun bouncing around. Meanwhile Paul and I took E and her cousin to soft play as they were a little too young to be bouncing around.

We all had great fun, it was so lovely to see the kids enjoying each other’s company as they ran around the soft play. We then met up with the bigger kids at MacDonalds for a Happy Meal or two before heading home with rather tired children.

J enjoyed the bouncing session so much that he has asked for us to book the same for his own birthday. Being ‘on the ball’  I have done just that saving myself the usual last-minute birthday party planning pressures.

Hearing Such Wonderful Things About Our Son

Whilst collecting my son from School last week I was pulled aside by his Teacher. I was half expecting to be told that he had done something untoward and was pleasantly surprised when his Teacher told me how proud she was of our son.

Apparently, J has been working particularly hard this month. I fully agree that J seems to be really focused upon his work and is putting in his full effort which is fantastic to see and especially to hear from his School.

I am so incredibly proud of J, he is such a clever, polite and lovely little man, I really couldn’t wish for any better.

This month also saw the start of the children’s new pocket-money plan. I feel that this has been a success so far as J certainly seems to be pushing the boat out in terms of effort to reap the rewards.

Booking Our Holiday

We don’t usually book our family holidays until last-minute but following the pandemonium of panic buying last year I refused to follow suit this year.

We found a really good deal on a weeks holiday in Mallorca or Majorca as us Brits call it and decided to book it an advance to make life a little easier.

I am really looking forward to our holiday later this year, it is really nice to have something actually planned and booked for once.

Watching The Local Pantomime

For the past three or four years my Dad has played a part in the local pantomime. He is a fantastic actor and we all greatly enjoying watching the Panto as a family each year.

Until now E has been a little too young to watch the Panto, it seemed a little too overwhelming for a toddler and given that it’s usually on until late at night it didn’t seem appropriate.

However, E is that bit older now that we decided to bring her along. Unfortunately, the day before the Panto E managed to come down with the latest cold and cough doing the rounds. We decided to say ‘sod it’ and took her anyway dosed up on Calpol and wrapped in blankets.

We were expecting to have to leave early or for one of us to take E home but she seemed to brighten up and really enjoyed the full show, especially her Grandad as ‘The Duke Of Buckingham’.

It was a fabulous night as always but this year was just that extra bit special as we were all there, the full family, the dream team.

Being Asked To Be A Bridesmaid

As you may have read in my recent post, I have very kindly been asked to be a Bridesmaid for one of my very good friends. This will be my first time as a Bridesmaid and I cannot tell you how honoured and excited I am.

I fully expect to have a list of tasks the length of my leg but I am totally up for it, especially the hen do of course!

Family Time

We have had some wonderful time together as a family this month, from winter walks on the beach to snuggling on the sofa with a movie.

We have spent huge amounts of time together playing board games, painting, sat playing with toys, having days and nights out, crafting, drawing, and all sorts of things, all of which I have greatly enjoyed.

I love my little family, they are my World and my favourite thing is to simply spend time with them no matter what we may be doing.

Thanks again for reading my blog and I hope that you enjoyed reading what I #LikedAndLoved in January.

If you fancy sharing some of your own #LikedAndLoved points from the month then why not join in either through your own blog post or by leaving a comment below, I would love to hear what you #LikedAndLoved this month!