Reasons to be Cheerful

This is the first time I've tried doing one of these, so I sincerely hope I get it right. It's being hosted by my friend Michelle, who is Mummy from the Heart.

My reasons to be cheerful this week!

1) I've just managed to run a software update on my Kindle without tears, or resorting to asking DH to do it. Go me and my techo-phobic self.
2) Jack has no homework this weekend. Not that it's a battle to get him to do it, but I think it's good for him to just be able to play Lego with Luke and ride his bike.
3) We're having Sunday lunch tomorrow at my Mum's, with my sister and her boys and my Mum makes a fabulous roast. :-)

Just the little things, that are pleasing this little mind today.

The Seldom Seen Other Half

Tiff works in construction and commutes a hour plus each way, every day, so he is gone in the morning before the rest of us are up and comes home late. This week was unusually busy, but he was out Tuesday and Thursday nights, had bible study here on Wednesday and came home at 8 last night because there had been a late meeting and drinks. Weekends are quite precious to us as a family. (So why am I lying on the bed, blogging?) Anyway, here is the SSOH and his beloved guitar, as photographed by Luke.

I'm a bad blogger

and I worked out why. I think I may have set the bar a bit high for myself. The truth is that I really struggle to practise the presence, some days I don't even try. I am a mum of three relatively small boys, married to one hard-working, but seldom seen (sort of!) husband and I need to be a bit more real. So, I will be renaming the blog and trying again!

Rainy days and Mondays

don't bother me that much.

I don't like rainy days in the summer, but in the autumn, well, you expect rain and I can live with it. It's rained in epic proportions for most of the afternoon and it's still coming down now.

My lovely sister-in-law, E, has just phoned to tell me that she and her boyfriend got engaged this weekend and will probably be getting married next September. We are absolutely thrilled for the pair of them and can't wait to celebrate with them. As luck would have it, we are headed up to them in a month's time to celebrate an important birthday for E (cough, 30, cough!) so no doubt we'll be breaking out the champagne then.

Before then, of course, I have two birthday boys of my own to contend with and one more shortly afterwards. I realised, as I paged through the calendar, that there are exactly five weeks between Dan and Jack's birthdays, with Luke's falling inbetween. Still, given that their due dates were all in the same week (Oct 25th, 28th and 31st) a five week spread of birthdays is pretty respectable! A friend had her third baby boy this weekend and looking at her photos took me straight back to Dan's early days.

I'll be back sooner than usual for a birthday blog for Daniel. :-)

School run mum

September's here and I'm back on the school run.

Luke started school in Reception with Mrs M and Jack has Mrs T this year. They've been back a week and a day and both seem really settled in. Here are my two smart schoolboys.

I think Dan is missing them though. Several days this week he has seemed on the verge of going to sleep on the school run, but once he catches sight of them, he perks up again and makes it through until bedtime.

This photo is partly for Marie, if she's reading, so that she can admire his taste in books and partly for anyone else to say things like "wow, when did he get so big?" Dan will be one in a few weeks time and is definitely losing his babyishness. Two weeks after that, Luke will be 5 and three weeks after that, Jack will be 7, so the party season is truly upon us.

It is very strange to think that this time a year ago I was so close to delivering, without knowing it. For those who don't know, Dan was born a month early due to an infection and was initially pretty poorly for a couple of days. Thanks to fantastic care and antibiotics, he then started to improve really well and we were out of hospital just over a week after he was born. I was used, once upon a time, to telling the story of Jack's delivery as though it had been great drama and woe -it took Dan's delivery to make me realise that there are worse things than being in labour for a couple of days.

Menus, Wii and afternoon naps

I am hiding in the study, supposedly making a menu planner for this week, but in reality, surfing the net and thinking about tomorrow. The big boys are playing Wii with Daddy and Dan is having a nap after church.

Tomorrow, the plumber is coming to start fitting our new bathroom and I am SO EXCITED. It is shamefully shallow of me, of course, but we have been here since Feb 09, without a shower and sitting in the bath has lost what little charm it had to start with. However, it means an early start tomorrow, so as to be dressed and decent when he gets here - oh well, a small price to pay. :-)

Summer, summer sun shines bright

Except when it's tiddling down with rain! Yesterday's rain was of epic, biblical proportions. The water butt is now full and I can almost hear the apple trees sighing with relief.

Rain however is not much fun when it's the school hols. I can't take them swimming because of numbers, I can't face the cinema with all three of them, ditto soft play. Even walking in the woods seems like a lot of effort, especially as the car boot is stuck shut, which makes taking a pram anywhere a bit of an effort.

Still, we've had two weeks of holiday-away, so a quiet week this week won't have done them that much harm and next week looks a bit busier - we may even make it to the beach hut with Granny, if the rain, rain go(es) away!