Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

Decoding Dreams

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Dreams have been a huge topic in our house recently, especially as both my girls tend to have them every night. For me, I don’t ever remember having dreams as a child (though I’m sure I did) and for the majority of my adult life I barely had any either. Many times my friends would talk about their dreams and all I could say was “I don’t really have any”. However I’ve noticed over the last few years I do seem to have more and as I’ve always known, its my brains way of processing everything that happens. I don’t know if I have a more stressful life nowadays, or maybe more things happen that need processing – but whatever the reason, I definitely have dreams more often than not these days.

dream

Last night, I had one of those dreams that you’re not really sure if it’s good or bad. The dream itself was good I suppose. I don’t remember it clearly now (and honestly I’m trying not to as well) but my dad was in it and it was happy and I was happy and there was love. However when I woke with a start this morning, I realised it was just a dream. Then there was that bittersweet moment as reality set in that my dad wasn’t around and that I couldn’t talk to him or see him, or hug him as I had in my dream – as he died twelve years ago. All morning I’ve felt a bit shaky, a bit like I want to cry and the truth is I know why I dreamt it, as there is family drama going on – especially that which involves my mum and I can only imagine how much she might be missing him right now.

Luckily though, Lily came down this morning and was all chatter about a weird and wonderful dream that she had. The girls always make me smile with their dreams as they’re nearly always happy, but if not then at least strange and funny. They used to have nightmares a lot when they were younger and I put most of that down to the fact they had good imaginations so they worked overtime when they sleep. Now I’m glad they are better at enjoying their dreams and can make the most wonderful stories based on them. Sometime we try to pick apart what their dreams might mean and I’ve sometimes even googled the odd thing when it’s been a really specific dream.

In association with Adjustamatic adjustable beds, I wanted to share this video about explaining kids dreams. I love that as a child, your mind sort of protects you from the bad aspects of your thoughts and puts them into more relatable stories in your dreams. That said, as far as my bad dream went last night, seeing my dad and being able to hug him again was actually a really special part of my dream – so maybe our mind is always looking out for us, in its own way.

Things No One Tells You About Divorce (From Someone Who Knows)

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This post has been contributed by Alex.

...And Then Sometimes Valentine's Day Sucks!

 

As you know, I’ve had a divorce, and so I know how it feels. Some people think that a divorce is the end of the world, but that is not the case. Despite what you may think right now, you will carry on and live your life. When a relationship comes to an end, it is best to let it go. Trying to hold onto something that’s no longer there is not healthy. In the long run, it will only cause you more pain than you need to feel. If you are thinking about getting a divorce, I would like to offer some advice.

Your kids should be your priority

If you have children, you need to put them first. Many children find it hard to cope with a divorce. That is normal. The most important thing on your part is that you support them. They need to know that you both love them no matter what. Kids tend to internalize things and think that everything is their fault. You need to make it 100% clear that is not the case. You don’t want your children blaming themselves for this issue. Instead, you need to show them that you care no matter what happens.

It doesn’t have to be painful

Most people think that divorce has to be super painful and long. In reality, you can get a divorce that is almost painless.The experts at Quick Divorce say that it can be much faster than you imagine. If you and your partner agree that it’s the end of the line, things will be quite simple. All you need to do is talk to your spouse about what you both want. If there is no bitterness between you, there is no need to make things hard. You should help one another through this time.

It will be hard to explain

When you get a divorce, there is one thing you will notice. Everyone will expect you to explain why you’re getting it. Don’t worry – people just want to see that you are okay. If it all gets too much, you can tell people to back off a little. They will understand why you need space. Of course, you need to explain the divorce to your kids. They have a right to know. Don’t worry too much about everyone else. You can talk to them when you are good and ready. Before that time comes, you don’t owe them an explanation at all.

You will feel better soon

Believe it or not, you will feel better again soon. When you end a relationship, it can be tough. It’s hard to get over a breakup. It’s even more difficult than that to get over a divorce. When you file the paperwork, it will all feel a little surreal. Just go with it. In due time, you will start to feel like yourself again. That is all you can ask for in the long run. Remember, sometimes marriages don’t work. That’s not as bizarre as you might think. You need to make sure that everyone is happy, including yourself.

33/52

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This week my photos of the girls are from our trip to Eureka yesterday. We had a lovely time and the girls really enjoyed themselves. Because it was the Little Live Pets events, there was free face painting. The girls both got beautiful butterflies!

23/52

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Lily: So technically this was only last Sunday, not really this week, but I haven’t taken one of the girls as yet. Lily was so pleased with her Hogwarts t-shirt that we bought from the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Megan: As with the picture above, I’ve used both of these already in my Harry Potter Studio Tour post, but they were the tail end of the week. Megan was really excited to actually open her chocolate frog AND to find she got a Dumbledore frog card.

22/52

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I’m sorry I’ve been a bit quiet on my blog these last few days but Wednesday was my birthday, Friday we went to Harry Potter Studios and Saturday was my birthday Murder Mystery party. Normal service should resume tomorrow. In the meantime, here is my 52 Project post.

Both the girls at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tours on May 30th. We tried the Butterbeer (of course) and while both said it was okay, Lily was the only one who actually had more than a mouthful or two.

21/52

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They say that dogs look like their owners – well neither of these dogs belong to us but I still can’t help but find it funny as to which dog had their picture with which girl. Megan posing with the neat and tidy looking dog, while Lily looks away with the messing looking dog. The dogs suit the girls, or should that be the girls suit the dogs?

20/52

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Megan: Too warm to sit at her computer, she instead sits listening to YouTube videos on her iPad. As always, complete with headphones.
Lily: Deciding to watch a Disney DVD (Toy Story 2), she joins Megan on the sofa, only to end up distracting Megan too.

18/52

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I meant to post this yesterday but the day took a strange turn. The girls were supposed to be out with their dad last night and all of today, so for fun I asked them to take some selfies yesterday and I would use them for my 52 Project. These are my favourite two.

Megan: I usually think that Lily takes a cuter picture, but in this case Megan is definitely starting to show how grown up she is. Megan does a lot on the internet and understands the concept of a selfie. All her pictures were real nice.
Lily: Majority of her selfies were looking down, because she didn’t understand to look at the camera part of my phone. However some of her pics were hilarious too, one looking one way, then the other, then up, then down etc. I’ll keep them all and upload them to Facebook, but this was just so Lily under all that fringe.

www.practisingsimplicity.com

Week 17 – Monday Round-up (a little late!)

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So yesterday I was super forgetful (and a little lazy) as I completely forgot all about my weekly round-up post and when I did remember at about 8pm, I couldn’t be bothered! Last week was Bank Holiday Monday, but mostly it was back to work and school. It flew by so fast that I can’t even remember a lot of what happened!

Monday, as I said, was Bank Holiday. The kids were with their dad and Chris was at work. I had a nice lazy start to the day, caught up on life online, got super excited that Hot Topic do in fact deliver to the UK, then cried when I realised it was over $45 (Amy we’ll have to make a joint order sometime!), made some blog posts so that when I got back to work I knew I had some done, headed out shopping for a few essentials and before I knew it, my day was pretty much done and I was heading out to get the kids! After they were in bed, I caught up on some TV and that was about that.

Tuesday came around and that was back to work and back to school. As usual it took us a couple of days to get back into the routine, rushing out of the front door at the last minute on both days, not to mention getting some fence panels stolen on Tuesday and a petrol/card payment disaster that I won’t even get into on the Wednesday. Work was fine, not as bad as you always dread going back to after holidays. The kids were tired from a week back at school and it showed even on the first couple of days. We tried to relax in the evenings as much as possible, simple food, fun activities etc. Megan started a sketch of her first princess since having the drawing book and I was pretty impressed!

We all agree that its really just the face shape and the eyes that I can’t quite right, otherwise its great. I’m so impressed with her drawing skills, especially since mine are zero.

Wednesday was my mum’s birthday and luckily Tuesday night I had got a meal ready and a cake made so this meant Wednesday itself was less stressful. Mum picked up the kids from school and came round, then my brother called in after work. We all had Beef Stroganoff and rice for dinner, followed by Tiramisu cake.

I was so pleased with how nice both the meal and the cake was and mum seemed happy too. Once the kids were in bed we all settled in with a liqueur floater coffee and watched Catching Fire. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening and it wasn’t too stressful for me, which was great.

Thursday was a great post day! The Harry Potter tickets arrived (I booked for our family to go in May half term, also my mum’s present is her ticket, plus Amy is coming too!) and my new Benefit mascara was in the mail too! I’ve been to the Harry Potter Studios before but I’m excited to take the kids. We’ve all been watching the Harry Potter movies together and Megan is now reading the books!

Speaking of Harry Potter, we also watched the next movie on Thursday night. We’ve up to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix now. I’m really surprised that neither of the girls have been scared yet, though this last one did bring about tears, when Sirius died and Harry has Voldemort inside him. They were both okay though and I’m really glad they’re enjoying the movies!

By the time Friday rolled around, I was very glad to see it! The kids were tired and I was exhausted, it was lovely to have a weekend with nothing planned! Nat came around Friday night and after I lectured us both on trying harder for our Weight Loss Wednesday, we decided we’d do the Smurf’s Dance Party on the Wii. I have to admit it was fairly hilarious and it did feel good to do some exercise! Other than that we just gossiped and caught up, which was nice as we hadn’t seen each other much during Easter holidays.

All day Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Chris was at work – so the kids and I had the whole time to ourselves. Saturday was lovely as we didn’t even leave the house. Megan and Lily played on Lego Harry Potter and I worked on my blogs. I made some bread in the afternoon, which was a bit of a disaster but tasted okay in the long run. I also painted my nails, ready for a new blog post. I got more great mail, my first MAC lipstick. I tried it on immediately and I’m excited to actually wear it out one day!

Sunday started off as a lazy, casual day but by 10.30am we decided we’d go swimming. It was really nice to go again, especially after we’d all enjoyed ourselves at Butlins. We were in the pool for about an hour before getting out and heading to McDonalds (bad, I know!). We then did a bit of shopping before heading home and continuing to relax. Lily and I played on Lego Marvel Superheroes and then the three of us sat down to watch Freaky Friday. Lily also lost another tooth, something I posted about in 17/52. All in all it was a lovely day. The evening I spent looking for my costume (still!!!) for Comic Con – something which I will soon be posting about. When Chris got home, we watched some TV and spent the evening together. Perfect end to a great week!