Focussing on Happy

Focussing on Happy #3 “Support”

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My word of the week this week was nearly solo, as Hubs has been in Canada since Monday (lucky devil) and I have been solo parenting for my longest stretch ever. But I haven’t really been solo – because I have so many wonderful friends and family around who have supported me and helped me out that I really haven’t had to do it alone. So my word this week is support.

So here is what made me happy over the last week.

Having a lovely Afternoon Tea with my hubs as a treat at a posh hotel. It was my birthday present from my parents and we thought it was a good plan to use it before he went away. With all that has been going on lately we have been really snappy with each other so it was nice to reconnect and have some fun together people watching and eating yummy food 🙂PhotoGrid_1466665407944

Enjoying Father’s Day morning at a local country park with Hubs’ parents, enjoying a rare bit of sunshine and warmth and having a lovely time together before saying goodbye to Hubs the next morning.PhotoGrid_1466665635723

Seeing how much LM loved the huge puddles when the rain returned on Monday, though I was less impressed at how many times I had to change both our clothes that day!PhotoGrid_1466666154171

Having a lovely sunny playdate with some friends round on Tuesday – chilling with friends in the sunshine is how a summer playdate should be, right?PhotoGrid_1466668778451

Having an impromptu walk round our local country park with some good friends and heading back to their house for tea. All the kids get on so so well so it was lovely.

Having Uncle Mark and Aunty Fran round to help with bath and bedtime Tuesday night. The kids are so close to them and have so much fun with them it is wonderful.PhotoGrid_1466668472615

Strawberry picking with my Mum on Wednesday, more to come on that tomorrow!

Popping round to see the Grandparents Wednesday afternoon then both my Mum and Uncle Paul popping in to help with the kiddies while I sorted tea and got some jobs done.20160622_173741

Having loads of bathy time fun with my gorgeous kiddies. Bathtime is often Hubs domain as I have been with them all day and he then gets to have fun with them…but it was lovely to enjoy that time (even though I will willingly give it back next week as that is normally a bit of a rest time for me!!)

Visiting our local country park with friends on Thursday as Monkey’s pre-school was closed to be used as a polling station. It was yet another wet and miserable day but we had a lot of fun nonethless.PhotoGrid_1466687901684

Skyping with Daddy in our afternoons, which is his morning.

It has been a really really busy week, which has been great as it has flown by and we are looking forward to Daddy being home. I am shattered but as I am sure you can tell from the list above there has been a LOT of happy times here.

How has your week been?

The Reading Residence
What Katy Said

Saturday

Focussing on Happy #2 “Goodbye”

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Well this week has flown by as usual, even though I feel like we have said goodbye to the summer already with all this rain we have been having! In fact that is one of the reasons that my word of the week this week is “goodbye.” It doesn’t sound all that happy and here I am only week 2 of focussing on happy but bear with me as we have had some lovely times.  Here is what has made me happy this week.

Ok yes, we seem to have said goodbye to summer and sunshine at the moment and it has been pouring with rain for a seriously high proportion of the week. Bit of a nuisance but on the positive, the kids adore getting out in the rain and splashing in puddles, and well I adore seeing them having so much fun. LM even insisted on going out mid downpour one day, though I have to admit I watched her from the dry living room, took a couple of pics then dried her off when her waterproofs gave up under the onslaught and she was starting to get wet and chilly!PhotoGrid_1466018023136

I’ve also made another HUGE step in the life of a mummy this week, and, *gasp* said goodbye to my changing bag. For a while I have been feeling that I just don’t need to carry such a huge bag around with me all the time. LM now often will go for a little walk or trip out without the buggy and it was a nuisance to carry if I had to carry her, and well it really was a haven for junk, crumbs and random odd socks and crusty raisins. So the extremely happy part of this goodbye is that I got to buy a couple of very lovely new bags. One being a small over the shoulder bag that I can put my purse, some wipes and a nappy or 2 in for short trips out, and the other being a lovely colourful backpack for days out when I need spare clothes and other bits. The great thing about it being a backpack is that I can also use it when out on my bike with one or both of the kids, which I couldn’t do with the existing changing bag. So I am very excited about that!PhotoGrid_1466084787871

It has been brought home to me this week just how soon we will be saying goodbye to our little pre-school boy and will have a little boy attending school instead. We attended a meeting at the school this week where we were given all manner of information and found out lots of important things about transition sessions and home visits etc. It’s a mixed bag emotion wise but I am choosing to be happy and relish in the exciting stage. He and his closest friend, F, are in the same class group and the same group for the transition sessions which I think will really help them both. It feels like there is a lot to do to get organised with buying uniforms and labelling them (labelling recommendations are very much welcome or ones to avoid!) but I also don’t want to do any of this too early in case he has a growth spurt. I am sure the next couple of months will fly by though!!IMG_20160614_212353

One other goodbye that I am not going to dwell on is that we are saying goodbye to Daddy on Monday as he will be going to Canada for a week for a business trip and I will be solo parenting. It will be the longest we’ve been apart and the longest either of us have solo parented the children. I am a little apprehensive but I am so happy because of the support friends and family are already offering and actually I feel pretty confident I will be ok anyway. I am sure I will be tired and I know I will miss hubs… but I don’t doubt I will manage.

This links nicely to another goobye, which is that potentially I am on the road to saying goodbye to PND. I may be wrong but I feel different lately, and I imagine even a few months ago I would have felt quite differently about hubs going away. Keep your fingers crossed for me on that one!

So that’s all the “goodbye” themed happiness and here is a few other things that have made me very happy this week.

Seeing some very very lovely friends of ours on Saturday who came to visit from London. Watching the kids play together and have tonnes of fun in the back garden, and finding out that they are randomly on holiday in Dorset this summer over the same period we will be down there house sitting! Hooray and wonderful timing!PhotoGrid_1465711365505

The kids having tea at our friend’s house and Monkey trying a bite of cucumber! I never thought I would see the day!

My old school teacher recognising me at the school evening and even remembering my name after about 27 years! So daft but I felt afterwards like I had met a celebrity – teachers, never forget the impact you have on the children you teach!!

I also had a lovely time visitng my friend with just our littlest ladies and seeing LM enjoy stroking their guinea pigs and trying to feed them. So cute!!PhotoGrid_1466085005193

There has been some goodbyes  (or at least bye for nows) this week but there has also been some lovely hellos. How has your week been?

The Reading Residence
What Katy Said

Focussing on Happy #1 “break”

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I’ve been joining in with Jocelyn’s word of the week linky for a long time and I love using it as a way to sum up my week, though sometimes I struggle to choose one word that fits the whole week as a lot can happen in a week! Sometimes it is easy to focus on the negatives and for example this week I nearly chose overwhelmed or struggling or hectic… But when I look back at pictures from the week what I actually see is smiles and happiness. That doesn’t mean I haven’t felt overwhelmed at times but it pays to remember that the whole week hasn’t been negative.

I’ve seen many other bloggers joining in with the Happy Days linky and sharing what has made them happy that week and have loved the idea of that too so I decided I want to join in. From now on I will be combining the two. I will still pick a word that best sums up the week but I will also try and focus on the positives and what has made me happy.

So while I have still been struggling with the extra things that need doing while hubs is recovering from his op and have felt overwhelmed at times, to the point where my blog has had to go on the backburner… Overall it has been a happy week and my word of the week is “break” here is why.

Saturday I had a much needed break catching up with some friends in London for a birthday. Lots of fun and laughter, mooching round Camden which I haven’t done in years, drinking shots at 5pm and a very tipsy and bizarre first experience at mecca bingo! Very amusing and definitely a break from normality. Massive thanks to my little bro and sister in law for helping hubs with bath and bedtime so that I was able to go as I really needed it.PhotoGrid_1465473766517

Sunday dawned and it was a lovely sunny day so we popped over to my mama’s for the morning and it was lovely to feel warm and have a break from the chilly wet weather recently.PhotoGrid_1465474099322

In another break from normality we abandoned the meal plan that evening (I didn’t fancy cooking a casserole in the heat) and instead invited some friends over for a little bbq which was really really lovely and so much fun.PhotoGrid_1465473884817

Monday being the end of half term means Monkey being back at pre-school… Which as much as I love being with him… Means I also get a bit of a break from him and a bit of peace when LM naps in the afternoon, which I so need.

I’ve run out of “break” analogies now so here is a few other things that have made me happy this week.

Hubs getting better and able to move more and more. We have been on some lovely short walks round the block with the kids or just with LM, helping him exercise. He has started driving short journeys again and can help me a bit more. He even did some hoovering!PhotoGrid_1465476204731

Watching LM explore the world around her as at the moment she is fascinated by everything.PhotoGrid_1465475938930

Making a go jetters jet pack with Monkey during Mummy and Monkey time on Tuesday. Even more I have enjoyed seeing how much he loves it and how he wants to wear it all the time. Cutie.PhotoGrid_1465474282255

Doing some painting in the garden with LM and her covering me in paint too. Cheeky girl haha.PhotoGrid_1465476835042

I’ve also had a bit of a break from blogging this week which means I have managed to get quite a few things done instead. I’ve planted a load of plants and sunflowers my stepdad and father in law kindly gave us, defrosted and cleaned out a freezer and deep cleaned the bathroom. So the house may still look tip but it hasn’t been a terrible week. Plus I feel a bit rejuvenated about blogging again which usually happens after a little break. How has your week been?

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