Olivia Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

My 37th Birthday

May 30, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

On the whole I avoid putting the actual age I am, on my blog. It’s not that it particularly bothers me (turning 30 never did) but I have to admit that inching closer to 40 does somehow make me feel old. However I’m sucking it up this year and trying to embrace it – and I’m going to let you know what a great birthday I had!

For a start, it was a Saturday (May 28th). Amy and Olivia came down to visit for the weekend, Chris was off work and even Amy’s O.H. was coming to spend the day with us! Though technically my birthday had started at midnight where Amy and I were still up and sitting in the dinning room, we soon headed to bed and started again properly in the morning. Chris sadly woke me at 7am when he got up and though I had hoped for a lie-in, it wasn’t to be! I got up and was greeted by many “happy birthday”s and Amy kindly made me a cup of tea! I sat down on the sofa to open cards and gifts from them all, which was really lovely.

The girls got me the Evil Queen from Snow White, in hag form. This is a Disney Tradition that I’ve been after for a while and I’m not sure why as she’s ugly as hell, but I love it regardless! Chris got me Seven Dwarves on a Log – again another Disney Tradition that I have loved for literally as long as I can remember. It was always far too expensive to consider getting but now it’s mine, yay! Finally Amy and Liv got me a box of goodies, including an Ursula decoration, Regina in Pop Funko, an art print of Belle and the Beast and a Tinker Bell scarf (I put it on straight away, so forgot to photograph it). There was also a limited edition print that Amy had found in a charity shop, which is literally amazing!

After this we sat around for a while relaxing, but the kids started to get hungry so I put on some breakfast. We had freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, along with margarine, nutella and chocolate/peanut butter spread. We actually didn’t even manage it all which was a surprise between six of us.

Everyone went off their separate ways then, to get dressed, to have another cup of tea etc. My mum arrived around lunch time to give me her gift and then Amy’s O.H. arrived too. After a while we headed out to Nottingham with the plan to play mini-golf but it actually turned out that we went shopping and ate at Five Guys. We headed home, got the girls to bed and then my friend Nat and her O.H. came around. We spent the evening chatting, laughing and drinking wine until about 1am.

While it maybe doesn’t sound like the most spectacular of birthdays, the evening was everything and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thankfully its a whole year now until the next one but I’m glad this one turned out pretty great.

8/52

February 21, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week Amy and Liv came to visit for a few days and we crammed a belated Galentine’s Day, Amy’s birthday and Easter, all into the three days they were here. Our belated Galentine’s was on Tuesday and as a surprise I booked (and paid for) a meal for all my favourite girlies, plus I got everyone a little gift and some sweets. This picture was taken at lunch time in Prezzo, while we waited for food!

Week 34 – Monday Round-up (well actually it’s Wednesday!)

August 26, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Well this week I am super late in making my round up post! I’m almost half the way through the next week in fact. It’s been a really great week though, with high and lows of course but mostly good! The kids are still off for Summer Holidays of course, though it won’t be for much longer now! We still haven’t really “done” an awful lot, but everyone seems okay with that and we still have our weekend in London coming up!

The beginning of the week, we didn’t do an awful lot to be honest! The girls went to their dad’s on Monday and had to wait at my mum’s while my car had it’s MOT. It wasn’t finished until almost 3pm (after the work needed was carried out) and after it was done I needed to get new tyres as well. So I headed to Tanvic, waited while my tyres were done and then made a random decision to try to Hobbycraft in Nottingham. It was nice to walk around but fairly fruitless, I had Burger King for dinner and then headed home. Tuesday I went over to pick the girls up from their dad and we came straight home. I used the day to catch up on TV and work on my new shop website – as it was due to open at the weekend. I also booked my train tickets to see Amy on that Friday, a decision I had been toying with a little over the week before. Wednesday and Thursday were both working on my Closet Geek venture, either on the website, taking photos or actually sewing. Nat came over for the daytime on Thursday but we just sat chatting while I sewed so I was still able to get plenty of work done.

On Friday morning the girls and I got up and ready, Chris took us to Retford station. However our train to York was cancelled and this began an interesting day of catching replacement and delayed trains. In the end we got to Amy’s about an hour and a half late and after catching the bus to her house and having a cup of tea, the girls had their photoshoot – the main reason we’d traveled over.

The rest of the day was spent with the girls on their iPads while Amy worked on photos and I worked on listings for my site. We stopped for us all to eat pizza takeaway and then one by one the kids went to bed. Amy and I ended up staying up till past midnight, getting my site ready but by the time I went to bed, it was all ready to go. The girls and I then played a sort of musical chairs with the beds overnight, each of us taking time in a different spot in a bed. We managed to find one that worked for us all and finally got some sleep!

In the morning we were up at 8am, the kids had breakfast and I had tea. We packed up all our stuff ready as Amy’s dad was taking us to the station and I checked to make sure all the trains were on time. We got to Berwick station around 9.45am which was plenty of time. The girls got some sweets and I got a sandwich, then we waited for the train to come along at 10.13am.

On the first train we had plenty of space so the girls sat together and I sat over the aisle. When we swapped at Newcastle, we had about 30 minutes to wait so we all grabbed a coffee and waited patiently. The next train we decided to all sit together, even though technically we had the extra space again. I knew I needed to open my store and the girls wanted to sit with me.

At 12pm I opened my store, the newsletter sent out automatically (as planned) and Amy and I pushed the opening on Instagram! There were loads of hits and plenty of positive feedback so that was great! Orders came in during the afternoon and that was great too. By the time the girls and I got home I was far too exhausted to tackle anything. We’d had Subway for lunch and had takeaway for dinner – but it was pretty great doing nothing! Once the girls went to bed I watched TV but I shopped and browsed for fabric, bows and even replied to someone about a custom order!

Finally it was Sunday and though I should have been making orders and promoting my site, for the most part I was just lying around watching TV. The girls went off with their Grandma to the beach for the day so it was nice just to grab some me time. I did spend most of the day on my iPad looking for fabric, charms and ideas for my stock generally. I placed a few orders and worked on some ideas. Chris came home and we spent the evening watching TV and snuggled up on the sofa.

So that was my week! It was exhausting but it was brilliant. Not to mention my site is now officially open! If you get a minute, please go check it out. You can find it at www.ClosetGeek.co.uk – not only that but you can follow on FB, Instagram and Twitter, all at @closetgeeksite

34/52

August 23, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

So many beautiful pictures to choose from this week as the girls had a mini photoshoot on Friday. It’s been such a lovely week and lovely summer holidays really. I’m so sad that it’s coming to an end! This picture is Lily, Megan and Amy’s daughter Olivia, when we went to visit them in Berwick this weekend. The girls are all wearing dresses that I made and are now in stock at my new online store – Closet Geek!

Week 19 – Monday Round-up

May 11, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

All weeks seem very samey at the moment so I’m sorry if these posts are a bit of a bore. Monday this week was Bank Holiday so it was a short school week and that’s always nice. The girls were with their dad on Monday and so after he picked them up, Chris and I went out for the day. We started by going to visit his Nan and then headed over to Lincoln where we were going to the cinema to see Avengers again and then on to Pizza Express for dinner. It was also May Fourth which for most means Star Wars Day, but for me it’s my dad’s birthday and since he died, its always been a day for reflection. It was nice to keep busy though and have a sort of “date day” with Chris. We ended our day with an ice cream and a walk through Lincoln, before meeting the girls and their dad to switch and go home. Once the girls were in bed we spent the evening catching up on TV like S.H.I.E.L.D., Gotham and Game of Thrones.

Tuesday was back to school and back to work for everyone, including me. Chris was on an early shift so he was out of the house early, but the girls and I headed to school as normal. After dropping them off in their classrooms, I headed to the office to help out. I stayed the whole day and even ended up covering a lunch shift in the dining room. After school the girls and I headed home, getting dinner and then getting homework done. The girls also had a bath because it was class photos at school the next day. When Chris got home, he had dinner and then we spent the evening catching up on Arrow together.

Wednesday was a nice relaxing day, spent catching up on blogging and everything around the house. Chris was at work and the girls were at school, so it was nice to have time to myself and I even started the day with a bacon butty and a cup of tea. I made curry for dinner, so it was easy when we all got home and once I’d picked up the kids from school it meant we didn’t have much to do. Again once Chris was home, we caught up on Arrow, trying to make sure we’re up to date by the finale!

On Thursday Chris was on a later shift and so once I took the girls to school, he was still here when I got back. He did have a driving lesson though so he wasn’t around for long. Once he was gone, I settled down to watch all my TV shows. I kept meaning to go and vote but ended up procrastinating the day away. In the end I collected the girls from school and then went to vote instead.

It was actually pretty interesting going with the girls as it sparked some conversation between us, making it really good fun. We came home and had dinner, before tidying up the girls room – putting away all their clothes and giving the room a hoover. Nat came round in the evening and we spent the evening catching up and having a gossip.

Friday came really quick and once I’d dropped off the kids at school, I came home to spend time with Chris before he went to work. I then made some jewellery orders and tidied up the house. Finally I went out to PC World to do a Mystery Shopper visit and then on to the girls at school to collect them. On the way home we stopped at Aldi and it was there we met Amy and Olivia who were visiting for the weekend. We all went back to our house and hung out, Olivia going to bed first, followed later by the girls. Amy and I ordered Indian takeaway and spent the evening chatting, then when Chris got home we looked for the most awful thing we could watch on TV.

In the morning we all got up and got ready, heading out to Nottingham where we would see Disney on Ice. Chris didn’t come as he had work but the rest of us went to Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, for the show at 11am. Everyone really enjoyed it and I got some lovely pictures. I even posted about it over on Twice the Mum. The show took us up till about 1pm and we’d already decided we’d go to Five Guys for lunch and then on to the Disney Store in Victoria Shopping Centre after that. It was about a ten minute walk for lunch and then another ten minute wait in the queue. It definitely wasn’t as nice as in America but it was still good. After lunch we all headed to the shopping centre but to be honest there wasn’t an awful lot we wanted (I just placed a Disney Store order last week) so we just picked up a couple of Tsum Tsums and then headed back to the car. On the way home we decided we fancied Starbucks so swung via Lincoln. We stopped to get drinks and by that time it was 5pm so we knew it would be almost bedtime for the girls by the time we got back and settled. Olivia had some toast before heading to bed and the girls waited a bit longer to make sure she was asleep. Amy and I ordered a pizza to share and then sat chatting and watching rubbish TV again for the evening.

On Sunday morning, I managed a bit of a lie-in but mostly I was awake and just too lazy to get out of bed. However I did get up and made everyone a cup of tea/coffee and then we all sat relaxed. At midday, Megan and I took Amy and Olivia to the station. Lily stayed at home with Chris. After dropping them off, Megan and I went to Aldi and did the week shop, making sure we got stuff for a roast dinner that day too. The afternoon was spent just hanging out together as a family, relaxing and not doing much. Eventually though Megan and I got up to make dinner and then we all sat together and ate. Afterwards we had waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce, along with a glass of wine for Chris and I. It was really a perfect evening. The girls headed to bed and Chris went for a bath so I went on my computer for a while. After that we watched Dredd and then S.H.I.E.L.D. before heading to bed.

Another nice week that seemed dull at the time but always seems fuller when I write about it. No idea what this week will bring but I’ve got a feeling it will be a busy one.

Week 8 – Monday Round-up

February 23, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Once again I haven’t managed to keep on top of my week, so I’m writing this all from memory after the whole week has passed. It’s been a really busy week and I honestly can’t believe how tired I’ve felt every day, but its been a lovely week, full of surprises and unexpected plans!

Monday began with a lie-in, because both the girls had stayed at their dad’s the night before. Chris was working at 12.30pm though so it did mean we had to get up eventually. While Chris spent the first part of the morning on his computer, I spent mine watching TV. Chris then came down and joined me, while getting himself ready for work. A parcel arrived in the post and it was a HUGE Hot Topic order that I had placed at Christmas and sent to my friend who lives in the USA. She had finally got around to mailing it to me and I was so excited to get it opened. However Chris was just leaving for work and I was running a bath so I only looked at it briefly before saying goodbye to Chris and then going for my bath. I had my new Unicorn Horn in the bath, a little late for Valentine’s Day but good nonetheless. Afterwards I went to get dressed and ended up trying on all of my Hot Topic dresses!

Without really meaning to, I ended up texting Amy for the majority of my morning and into the afternoon. We discussed her birthday, Florida, Hot Topic and even all my new dresses. I even ended up sending her pics of me wearing each dress! Eventually I went downstairs again and Nat arrived to spend the afternoon with me. We didn’t really do much but we sat and drank tea, chatting and catching up, planning what we might do to earn us some money! It was actually pretty late on by the time Nat left, I would guess around 7.30-8pm and so I fixed myself some dinner and settled down for the evening. Next I knew I was making plans with Amy for her to come and visit the very next day! Chris arrived home eventually and we sat down to watch the next episode of The Walking Dead. It was almost as dull as the week before, though the last five minutes was marginally more interesting. We headed to bed as we had lots to fit in the next day and already I was realising it would be a busy week!

Tuesday we got up around 9am, still no kids to wake us! We got ready and dressed, heading out to the Plumb Centre in order to get a part for mum’s sink. We then headed over to mum’s house and fitted the pipe for her. It didn’t go 100% to plan but we got there in the end. Not long after we finished, mum turned up with the kids. She’d picked them up from their dad’s and taken them to see some mutual friends that morning, but I was collecting them from her and then going to pick up Amy and Olivia from the station. We headed straight off to get Amy and arrived a little early so had to wait. However at around 12.30pm they arrived and we all set off back to Gainsborough. When we got back, we headed to Tesco as we needed a few essentials, along with some food for dinner and also ingredients for pancakes (Tuesday was Pancake Day!). Finally we got back home, unpacked and relaxed for a while but then I remembered I needed to go into town and everyone bar Chris decided to come too. After going to the Post Office, we went to buy Tsum Tsum’s for Amy and Liv, but Lily ended up getting some too. We then also went for a wander around Gainsborough before eventually heading back again. I cooked Lasagne for dinner which we all ate and then after Liv was in bed I made pancakes for everyone. I was so stuffed and well over my calorie allowance for the day!

Lily went to bed too and Chris was upstairs on his computer with his friend Jon. Amy and I sat chatting for the evening, eventually sending Megan to bed around 10pm. I don’t honestly remember what we chatted about but I know it mostly revolved around Florida. Either way the evening went fast and it was gone midnight before we were heading to bed. On Wednesday we all got up and Chris was getting ready to go to work, while we were planning the first of Lily’s birthday celebrations. Unfortunately her best friend is away over her birthday (a week each side), as is my mum, so we’re really limited by what we can do and what she’ll enjoy. Instead of having a party without her friend, we decided to have a day out in half term with Ciara, then a meal out just me, Megan and Lily on her birthday, then a small party/murder mystery a week after that. Ultimately she’ll be celebrating over a period of about a month but I’m sure she won’t mind! Anyway, we booked Orange Wednesday tickets for 6 of us, meaning we only paid for 3 and then tried to book ASK for lunch but unfortunately it wasn’t open before the time we needed to leave the house. We headed off out around 11.30am and went to pick Ciara up from her house in Saxilby. We then went into Lincoln and parked the car, heading to ASK for lunch. Unfortunately they claimed to have no room for us (depsite being half empty) so we headed off to Prezzo instead. I was a little upset by this as I’d converted all my Tesco vouchers into ASK vouchers, in order to save myself money and instead had to pay out full price in Prezzo and have ASK vouchers I couldn’t use. Luckily though I found a 25% off code for Prezzo on my phone and the three younger girls all ate off a kids menu that only cost £3.50 anyway.

Though it felt a bit rushed, we headed out of Prezzo and over to the Odeon. We were in plenty of time for the movie though and all settled down to watch the trailers. All of us loved the movie as we were seeing Big Hero 6 again, though it was the first time for Lily’s friend Ciara. By the time the movie ended, it was almost 4pm. We headed out to the car and then drove Ciara home. After dropping her off we were all so exhausted that we barely spoke on the way home and Liv even fell asleep. When we got back to the house the girls had to fit in their Disney task – which was dress up Disney. Amy didn’t think that Olivia had the energy to participate but as soon as my girls were dressed as princesses, she wanted to join in too. After that it was a case of basic but fast dinner for the kids, so Liv could get to bed, shortly followed by Lily and then Megan too. Amy and I spent a large part of the evening on phones/computers, barely talking as we were both tired. Eventually Chris came home from work and joined us so we put on some TV, just to chill out. First we watched Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, then came Beauty & the Geek and finally we watched a ridiculous program called Virgin Coaches. It was 1am by the time we all headed to bed which was ridiculous considering how tired we had all been!

On Thursday we really did an awful lot of nothing. Amy was heading home that day but not until 4pm. However this sort of made it feel like we couldn’t do anything for the day so instead just lounged around. I don’t think any of us really minded as we were all still tired though. After lunch Megan started to get a headache and so she headed upstairs for a lie down. Eventually Amy had to leave and so Lily and I went with them to the station. There was nowhere to park at the station though and we very almost missed the train for them! Once they were safely aboard, Lily and I went to Tesco again. We bought a few bits we needed but also some things for Megan with the hope she would feel better soon. In the evening we caught up on Hunchback of Notre Dame and then the girls went to bed. I spent the evening catching up on my blog and trying to fight off tiredness that eventually led to an early night!

Friday we were all going to Meadowhall however Chris had woken in the night with a terrible sore throat and had ended up downstairs for the majority of the night. Though it woke and disturbed me at the time, it actually lead to me sleeping a little longer in the morning so I woke feeling very refreshed. At 9am I made sure the girls were up and ready, dressed and had breakfast. Mum arrived for us at 10am and all four of us set off, along with mum and my sister Pippa. We arrived at Meadowhall around 11am and agreed to go our separate ways and meet for lunch at 12.30pm. The girls, Chris and I headed for Next as both the girls had vouchers to spend and then we went next door to Primark for the bulk of their shopping. At Christmas I had bought the girls a lot of new dresses and am also making them some Disney themed ones too. As such we were only looking for cardigans, shoes, sunglasses and sunhats. Even still it took the whole hour and a half, meaning we had to rush to meet mum and Pippa for lunch. When we found them, they were ordering jacket potatoes so we found a table and then Chris and I went to get our lunch. Me, Chris and Lily all had Pizza Hut Express, while Megan had McDonalds. After lunch we nipped the shopping to the car and then went back to where we left off. We made our way all around the top level of Meadowhall, before then tackling the bottom level. Mum text to say she was done and waiting in the car but not to rush. In the end we were about another hour after that. When we got back to the car, mum drove us home and when we got there we were all exhausted again. However we needed to have dinner and watch a Disney movie so while we sat and did that, I sorted out all the clothes we’d bought.

While the girls just had a microwave pizza (Lily) and toast (Megan), Chris ordered chinese takeaway for us. I had a little but I was stuffed really fast so I left the rest for him. While we had been out that day, I’d had a parcel arrive and be left in the back garden. Turned out it was a mannequin that I’d ordered so Chris very kindly put her together for me and while I was so tempted to get using her, I was exhausted. Instead Chris went on his computer and I sorted out the clothes and suitcases with the kids. After they were in bed I went for a nice relaxing bath and then laid on the bed for a while, playing on my phone. Eventually I came downstairs and watched some TV, Chris coming downstairs to join me. We didn’t stay up late though as he hadn’t slept well the night before and he had work the next day.

Chris woke at 6am and sneaked out fairly quietly to head off to work. I managed to get straight back to sleep and it was about 8.30am before I woke again but I managed to doze until about 9.30am. Eventually I got up and got the girls ready. Mum was calling for us at 11.30am and we were all going out for lunch to celebrate my sister’s birthday. The morning flew by and I didn’t even have chance to get a cup of tea. In the end I grabbed a can of diet pepsi as we left the house and then mum drove us all to Scunthorpe to meet with my brother and his girlfriend. We then headed out to a pub in pretty much the middle of nowhere, where we almost enjoyed a lunch together. Afterwards my brother and his girlfriend headed off and mum had to take Pippa home. Obviously we went with her as she’d picked us up but afterwards she drove us into Gainsborough so I could pop to the Post Office and go and collect Chris’ contact lenses from the Opticians. We then came back to the house and mum came in for a cup of tea and a chat. She ended up staying way longer than she intended to and Chris was arriving back from work just as she was leaving. Once mum was gone and Chris was back, it was time for the girls to have dinner and Chris was going to make himself some food. I had a bit of a headache so between Chris and Megan, they made me a cup of tea and organised both girls’ dinner. Chris then sat down with his food and we spent some of the evening together, before I headed upstairs to put Lily to bed. Once she was in bed, Chris went for a bath so Megan got her homework done and I sat on my computer. Once Chris was out of the bath it was pretty much time for Megan to go to bed and so she did and then Chris and I watched TV together. I was too tired again to do anything constructive so I ended up turning off my computer and just watching TV snuggled up with Chris. In the end we headed to bed though as we were both exhausted.

Finally it was around to Sunday and none of us had to be up but it was also the last day of half term so I wanted to make the most of my time with the girls. Chris spent majority of the day upstairs on his computer but I spent the day making sure Megan had got various homework (and blog posts) done and Lily helped me tidy and sort out clothes. We had lunch and watched Monsters Inc as it was our Disney task of the day and by the time we were finished it was late in the afternoon. The girls went for a bath and then had dinner, before sorting out their room, their clothes for school and eventually getting them to bed. Chris and I spent the evening watching TV before eventually heading to bed.

It’s been a good week and I’m actually sad that half term is over. However there’s definitely something to be said about the routine of a school week and time flying by. There is now just over 5 weeks till we go to Florida and I can’t believe how fast its all going. I have so much to do still but at the same time I can’t wait!

Week 4 – Monday Round-up

January 26, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s been a pretty good week. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but its definitely felt it. Perhaps every week just feels better now that I’m not working! Anyway, its been a regular sort of a week – with everyone at school and at work. Monday was normal – Chris out of the door by 7.30am and me and the girls on our way to school by 8.30am. After dropping the kids off, I headed back to Gainsborough and got the weekly shop out of the way. It was probably about 11am when I got home and then I proceeded to tidy up and get some things listed on Ebay. Majority of the day was spent on my computer, until I went to pick the kids up from school. We came home and the girls went for a bath, before getting out and having dinner. Afterwards they played on Disneyland Adventures together, until bedtime. I cooked Chris Shepherd’s Pie for dinner and made sure that was ready when he got back. I spent the evening writing a blog post and then watching TV, right up until heading to bed.

Tuesday was pretty much the same start, except that I headed straight home after dropping off the girls. I listed a few more things on Ebay and then I went up to my room to sort through some t-shirts and came up with the idea of T-shirt Tuesday. I also decided to work on some t-shirts as projects, stitching them into dresses perhaps. Anyway, it was a productive sort of a day until about lunch time when I started to get a really bad stomach ache. In the end I sat on the sofa for a while with the hope it would go and when it didn’t, I went for a bath. Sadly that didn’t help much either but once I got out, I got into my PJs and just waited for Chris or the girls to come home. When the kids got back I read a bedtime story to them and Chris came home just as we were taking our group picture, so he joined in! Luckily there was still Shepherd’s Pie left for Chris to have for dinner as I wasn’t up to making anything, but I did try to get some more work done on Olivia’s dress and Chris kept me company by playing on the Xbox.

In the middle of the night, I was awake feeling unwell. I ended up playing endless Tsum Tsum and Frozen Freefall for about 3 hours, before finally falling asleep on the sofa. I woke just before my alarm went off at 7am and before I knew it, Chris was coming downstairs. Kindly he made me a cup of tea before leaving for work and the girls got ready while I just lay on the sofa. However I ended up getting ready and taking the kids to school. After that I had to call at my mum’s to drop off Megan’s iPad and help her update her SatNav. I was there till gone midday, before heading back to Gainborough, popping to Boyes for t-shirt material and then heading home. After getting some lunch, I started to work on my t-shirt. There was exciting post in the form of my Memory Maker from Disney World and then I FaceTime’d with my friend in New York, to open a belated Christmas present that he sent. At the end of the call I was beginning to feel a bit worse for wear again. I curled up on the sofa again and that was the end of my productive day. As the girls were at mum’s, I didn’t need to turn out for them so I just waited for Chris to get home. As he knew I wasn’t feeling very well, he came back with a bunch of flowers again – this time pink roses.

The evening was spent with Chris, snuggled up in front of the tv. We headed to bed fairly early as I’d obviously lost a lot of sleep the night before. I slept incredibly soundly and since Chris was at work in the morning and the kids weren’t there, I managed to sleep on until 11.30am. When I did get up, I was feeling better again. I had parcels to wrap, in order to post and it was a rush to get organised and get out of the house. I had to call at the Post Office and then at my mum’s, all before picking the girls up from school. When we got home, it was time to make dinner – Turkey and Bacon Hotpot for Chris and I, along with whatever the kids had. I then cracked on with Olivia’s cake, baking and decorating for majority of the evening – mostly with Megan’s help, at least until she had to go to bed. Eventually I had to call it a night and head to bed myself.

On Friday the girls and I got up and dressed, Chris headed out to work. I had numerous jobs to get done that morning including post office, shopping, parcel collection etc. Once all those things were done I had to head home and get some things around the house done. I had some lunch and finished off Olivia’s dress, all before heading out to pick up Amy and Liv. After letting Olivia open her birthday presents and see the cake, we settled in for the rest of the day – the girls picking to watch Peter Pan as their Disney task for the day. For dinner I made all three girls some fish fingers and chips, before eventually it was time for Olivia to go to bed. Chris arrived home from work and I made Spicy Chicken pasta for me, Chris and Amy and not long after that, Megan and Lily headed to bed too. Chris went upstairs to play on his computer and Amy and I spent the whole evening planning our Florida trip. By about midnight we were all knackered and headed to bed.

On Saturday morning, it was hard to get a lie-in. I heard the girls get up and while they were all very quiet, I heard noises every now and again, stirring me from sleep. In the end I got up and though we’d originally had a few things planned for the day, we actually did very little. The three girls dressed up in Disney fancy dress and for majority of the day they occupied themselves with various things. Amy and I spent the majority of the day just hanging out and chatting, while Chris spent time on his computer as well as going for his driving lesson. In the evening I made pizza for the girls and Boozy Beef with mushrooms (and rice) for me, Chris and Amy. Again Chris spent the evening on his computer and while Amy and I had intended to watch a movie, we never actually got around to it.

On Sunday morning, I slept a little longer but not much. The morning was fairly lazy, especially knowing Amy and Olivia were leaving at lunch time. We drove them to the train station and saw them off, popping to Asda afterwards as the girls had asked for a sandwich. We headed back home and when we got there we settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland. After that the girls had a bath and then had dinner. Once they were done, Lily played on the Xbox for a while and Megan did some blogging. When Lily was in bed, Megan went on the Xbox and she played on that till bed time too. Once they were both in bed, I tried to actually get some stuff done, but didn’t really get that far. I went for a bath and Chris kept me company, eventually swapping and having a bath himself. I went to read my book and when he got out, we both watched TV until heading to bed.

Like I said, it was a good week but for no particular reason. It was lovely to have Amy stay for the weekend, even if it does make the weekend go by so fast. Already into the next week of course and so far its been a little strange. Fingers crossed for some normality come tomorrow but I’ll let you know next week!

4/52

January 25, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week’s 52 Project photo was one taken this weekend. Amy and Liv were over to visit and as such, Amy asked if the girls had the disney task of dressing up over the weekend. As they did, Amy brought Olivia’s Minnie Mouse costume and all three girls spent Saturday dressed up. I picked this picture partly because its one of the few I’ve taken this week, but also because it gives a great comparison to them growing with Liv in the picture too (and how small she is!).