So this weekend was the one with all the cleaning.
I tend to do ninety percent of my housework over the weekend anyways but this Saturday I did a bit of a deep clean, tackling the kitchen and bathroom in particular. I scrubbed, bleached and polished until everything sparkled and shone. In between all that I also put in some washing, folded clothes away, received and put away a shopping delivery and mopped the conservatory.
I never realised how fast time goes when you're cleaning until a rumbling stomach made me look at the clock and I was surprised to see it was nearly two!
Simon had left quite early that morning because he had to work and the kids had made themselves comfy on the sofa's. When their programmes had finished they had both migrated to their rooms but they too had rumbling tummies and came down asking for lunch.
These little milkshake drinks were quite the hit!
Milo remained very unfazed by all the cleaning and crafting going on, spending his Saturday afternoon "cat style".
This weekend it was Dylan's turn to go for a sleepover at his friend's house. We packed a little bag and he left just before three leaving just me and Emily. Emily had been very busy crafting. Last weekend she made a house for he Littlest pet shop animals and this weekend she made a new improved version.
How amazing does this look!
She's such a crafty little nugget.
We ended up having a movie night while munching on chocolate. I love cuddling with my girl.
Over the past few months Dylan has entered that stage here he thinks everything I do is uncool or embarrassing so it's nice to still have Emily cuddle up to me and think I'm pretty amazing. I know one day she'll feel the same but hopefully by then Dylan will have realised that mum is actually not that bad...or so I hope. Teenagers eh!
Sunday was a lazy day, which was welcomed after the busyness of Saturday.
Dylan came home just after nine and he was exhausted. His first words when he walked through the door were "I only slept for three hours".
Needless to say he kept himself quiet all day, spending most of the time on his bed listening to music or watching videos.
My sister in law, niece and nephew visited us in the morning and we had a lovely catch up. They are moving away to Oman in a few weeks time so it's nice to still be able to spend some time together. My little niece when straight up to go and play with Emily and she ended up staying until mid afternoon. It was so fun to hear the girls play. They started of playing pet shop but then they made up a game called mailbox and husky dog. They had taken over all the rooms upstairs and the hall was where the mailbox was. It was actually hilarious to listen to.
It all got a bit too hectic for the cat so he decided to go and hide in the only peaceful room in the house.
Simon headed to the kitchen and started rummaging around. I went to have a look at what he was doing and it turned out he was making cheese and bacon bread rolls.
They were beyond delicious!
After Simon had taken Nina back home I headed up to help Emily tidy up and I wish I had taken a photo! Yes, it was that bad.
Soon after it was my turn to rummage around in the kitchen and we had a roast followed by strawberry and cream meringues for our dinner.
It was all very good.
As usual the weekend went by way to fast.
Monday is just one sleep away.
Boo.
If I had to describe this past weekend in one word it would probably be "blah".
Not because the weekend was blah, far from it, it was just how I felt.
You see I hadn't been feeling well since Wednesday afternoon. It was one of those viruses you don't see coming, one minute you are absolutely fine and then BANG...horrible feverish cold.
By Friday it had well and truly got hold of me and I was sent home early from work. Normally I would treasure these extra few hours of weekend and get a head start on chores and washing, but not this time. I basically spent the rest of the day curled up under a blanket.
Normally I'm the first one awake on Saturday mornings, but when I came down Dylan was already up and had made himself breakfast and a drink. He's such a good boy.
Simon had to go to work so it was just me and the kids for the day.
I had a long list of chores in my head but not the energy to match. By late morning I actually did manage to polish and tidy up a little bit.
Emily did crafts for most of the day, she watched a video on you tube where someone made a house for their littlest pet shop toys and she wanted to make on of her own. We rummaged around a bit and found a decent sized cardboard box and some craft bits.
She did quite a good job so far I think.
Dylan played wiiU in his room, and every now and then he came down to check if I was OK. He kept asking me if I needed a drink or something to eat and I felt really cared for.
I had made myself comfortable on the sofa with a blanket and a book, it was all I had energy for.
Emily was actually quite excited all day because she had a sleepover to go to. We packed her bag with everything she needed and wanted to take and when Simon got back from work he surprised her with some cute new pyjamas. She was one happy girl.
When evening came I started feeling better and I thought I'd actually turned a corner.
I hadn't.
Sunday I felt even worse and on top of that I'd lost my voice!
My husband joked it was going to be a quiet day.
Dylan got up early again, he'd made plans with a few friends to for a bug out. Basically they spend the day outside in the woods behind his friends house doing camping and scouting and they always have a great time. We picked Emily up by lunchtime and found out the girls only fell asleep around two in the morning! Naturally she was a bit tired in the afternoon, early bedtime it will be.
The afternoon has been quiet. We watched a movie and ate cookies.
I really didn't have the energy for anything more.
Right now there's a chicken in the oven and I really need to start prepping the vegetables and potatoes. Dylan is back home and all played out. Emily is getting more inspiration for her littlest pet shop house by watching another video. She should really do her homework instead!
Simon is watching some super hero movie.
the cat is asleep....I feel I should be too.
I cannot believe it's already Monday.
This weekend has just flown by. I'm sure I just left work on Friday, blinked, and now I'm writing this!
Anyway...
Saturday started out with croissants. We love croissants in our family, especially Emily, it's her favorite breakfast. I had mine with butter and jam...and boy was it good.
We had our breakfast while watching cartoons, which seems to be the norm around here on the weekend. I could have sat there all morning but unfortunately I had quite a few chores to do and errands to run. We all got ready quite quickly and even Simon commented when we were in the car at how early we were all out for a Saturday. I really wanted to go the the Range to buy a new diary, I can't believe we're nearly half way through January and I still haven't got one. I didn't quite find what I was looking for but we did pick up a few other bits and pieces and Dylan and Emily had one of those pick and mix sweets cups which they love. We also found Minion Tic Tacs!
We also hit the supermarket and as we were in the neighborhood we decided to pop around Simon's sister house and have lunch together. It was lovely to have a catch up and Emily loves playing with their dog Rocky. She kept putting a blanket on him and pretended he was wearing a cape, it was really funny the watch. They also had a little tug of war with one of his toys.
Their living room was so cosy with that little log burner, It made ours feel quite cool when we got back home.
We gave Milo a little toy we'd picked up earlier in the day and he became quite obsessed with it, it must be all the catnip inside of it. He's such a crazy cat.
The rest of the day was spend pottering around the house, you know, polishing, hoovering, folding clothes away, preparing dinner and we are all happy just doing our little things. Simon was trying to fix something on the computer, Dylan was playing on the Wii U and Emily had made a whole set up in her room and was playing an adventure with her Littlest Pet Shop animals.
The evening came quick and the kids asked for movie night so we watched Inside Out. While we were watching it Emily got out her crayons and drew all the characters but as cats, she "catified" them as she calls it! Her drawing is really brilliant.
Sunday morning was a lazy one and no of us was in the mood to move or do anything for a long time.
We had chocolate bread for breakfast and it was just divine. That kind of breakfast is right up my street! Must be the Belgian in me.
This is a shop bought one (Aldi in case you were wondering), but I have a recipe ready that I might just try out one of these following weekends.
We did eventually get up from the sofa and Simon took Emily swimming while Dylan and I went to into town. I had a gift voucher to spend and I knew just what to get with it.
I have been a Soap & Glory fan for quite some time now and only just used up all my bit and pieces from last years box. Bath time will be amazing once again.
We still had some time left before swimming was over so we went into Starbucks and it was just so lovely to have Dylan all to myself. He told me all about a game he'd been playing and all the rules and he was so passionate about it. He really is growing up before my eyes. He's such a sweet boy as well and when we went to his parents evening a few months ago his teachers were full of praise and it made my heart swell with pride.
Our afternoon was very quiet.
Nothing beats a lazy Sunday afternoon really.
We watched a movie, the kids played and Simon fell asleep and had quite a long nap.
The most eventful thing that happened was roast dinner. It was a good one too.
Even if I did burn the Yorkshire puddings ever so slightly!
Oh hi there, remember me...the one who's neglected this blog for over a year? Seems I found my way back. I'll mainly be documenting our weekends for now. I did after all start this blog, so many years ago, as a way of holding on to family moments and memories and I can just image laughing and reminiscing with the kids in years to come when we look back at moments long forgotten, and although these weekend posts might not mean much to you, they mean the world to me.
Saturday started of slow. I really do like when the kids are on school holidays because the mornings are so uncomplicated. No rushed breakfasts, no looking for misplaced homework, no nagging because they are getting dressed too slowly, no nothing. This Saturday we all seemed to take even more advantage of that, knowing the madness would start again on Monday.
I was awake quite early, I say early but I really do consider 7.30 a lie in. I made myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed the quiet for a bit. Slowly but surely my little gang came down. Emily first and she immediately claimed the warm snuggly blanket and Dylan came down shortly after. The morning consisted of Spongebob cartoons and snuggles.
At around 9 Simon came down. He'd just received a message from his dad inviting us all out for an early birthday breakfast/brunch for his brother.
We were all quite excited and looking forward to a good breakfast instead of toast to be honest!
We ended up going to Frankie and Benny's and the food was delicious. Dylan had ordered a breakfast pizza and it was the best thing ever! It was nice for the family to be together again, Simons dad and younger brother travel a lot for their work, and with everybody being so busy over the festive period it was nice to all sit together and catch up on things.
Afterwards we took a quick trip to the shopping center to buy Dylan some new school shoes. It was so busy! I would have loved a walk around but it was way too crowded so off home we went.
As the afternoon went on it just got darker and darker until eventually the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the weekend!
When we got home I decided to do a bit of a clear out in Emily's room. She's a real bookworm and we are forever buying her new books. She recently got into this book series called Warrior Cats and she's hooked! Good thing Santa brought her a few more. She read her first Warrior cat book back in September and she's now on the third series. Not bad if you consider that each series has SIX books!
Anyway, all these new books meant she was running out of space on her bookshelf. She still had so many of her baby and early reader books, and I was taken back in time for a moment, remembering first flicking through them and hearing her read her first words when she was tiny. Sentimental as they might be they had to be packed away....second hand books anyone?!
We kept some of her favorites though but her little shelf looks so much better now, and it even has space for my Harry Potter books, which since going to the Harry Potter studio's two weeks ago, she's also crazy about! Bookworm, I told you.
After all that sorting it was time for a bit of Trivial Pursuit. Is it just in my family the dad cheats?
It was good fun but Dylan did find the questions quite hard.
Sunday was a quiet one!
I did a bit of tidying, sorting out and just pottered about getting things ready for Monday morning.
I think Emily was a bit jealous because Dylan has an extra day off school, yay, which means I'm home too on this rainy Monday, double yay!
In the afternoon I cleaned out the hamster cage and it's so funny watching her afterwards as she's all confused and trying the figure out where to hide her food this time around. It probably took her 20 minutes, with cheeks stuffed full of food, to decide where to store it all.
We also quickly popped around Simon's brother for a cup of tea, some cake and a chat and then home for dinner which was a delicious macaroni ham and cheese.
The evening came fast and before we knew it it was time for bed.
New work/school week...we are ready for you!
Oh and the cat...all he did this weekend was sleep.
Lazy boy!
I was just browsing through our summer photos and this one made me laugh.
I'd left the kids with their dad while in town so I could do some quick shopping and this is what I walked back to...two children with blinged out caps, one of them eating blue ice cream!
It's not unusual for Dylan to have his ice cream all over his face, I actually think he thinks it's a necessity. Thank God he wasn't eating chocolate ice cream!
As for Emily, I remember her being particularly ratty later that day, I wonder if that blue ice cream had anything to do with it.
I'm am thankful though because I did get a chance to get some shopping done without two kids trailing behind me touching everything and moaning loudly,
and,
the caps are still worn regularly.
Blue ice cream however will NEVER be bought again.
Over the weekend one of my lovely friends came to visit and we decided spend a day out in Canterbury.
Although I go quite regularly, Canterbury being the closest big town for some good shopping, I
never really hit the touristy places.
Sure, I walk past the cathedral every time, but it's been at least 15 years since I've actually went in. Due to the Sunday service taking place we didn't have the chance to visit the inside of the cathedral but we did spend a good amount of time exploring the grounds, gardens and crypt. It truly is a fabulous place.
We then continued strolling through town and taking in all the sights and we ended up by the canal where Emily begged us to go on a boat ride. The sky was looking rather grey at that time so we decided not to which made Emily quite sad. I can't blame her for wanting to go on the canal boats, it all looked very idyllic.
I foresee another trip to Canterbury very soon...on a day when no rain is forecast so my little Emily
can finally go on that much wanted boat ride
I cannot believe I haven't written anything in TWO weeks!
Time just seems to fly by.
One minute it was Christmas, the next it will be Easter.
Everything in between is a blur.
Seriously, am I the only one who seems to be caught in a time warp!?
So, two weeks...
A lot has happened.
Mothers day for instance,
and yet I have not found the time to document this.
We had a great day of course, a great weekend even.
Simon had to work which was a bit of a letdown,
but it didn't stop me and the kids having a fun time.
On Saturday I took them on the bus to Canterbury.
My main goal was to visit the Cath Kidston store but somehow we ended up in Build A Bear!
You should have seen the look on my kids faces, both their eyes lit up when they saw the cute big bears, big little ponies, Easter bunnies and don't even get me started on all the outfits.
I wasn't going to buy them one of course,
but somehow, when we walked back out, both my kids were holding a new bear.
In my defence, I did manage to talk them down to a tiny bear instead of a big one.
A purple chick and a monkey to be more precise.
On to Cath Kidston.
Emily and I were delighted to look at everything and I had to tell her more than once to not touch that cute mug or open the moisturisers to sniff them.
Dylan on the other hand wasn't too bothered, cute florals and girly things don't really do it for him!
I choose my mothers day present (the reason we went in the first place) which was a new wallet, and treated myself to a new mug as well.
Mission accomplished.
Sunday I was woken up early and Emily (with help from dad) brought up a cup of coffee, jumped on the bed and gave me her cards. She was so proud to show me the card she'd made in school. It was too cute!
Dylan had a bit of a sleep in and stumbled down half an hour later wishing me happy birthday!
Hahaha, he was still half asleep and obviously a bit confused.
The cards he'd made me in school and scouts were very sweet.
I'm so lucky to have such sweet kiddies.
I do love them more than they'll ever know.
On Tuesday Emily's Brownies group hosted a Mothers day tea party.
The girls were asked to bring in some cakes or biscuits so me and Emily did some baking together.
We decided on triple chocolate chip cookies and they were amazing.
Luckily we had made loads so we had some left over to nibble on later in the evening.
The tea party itself was really sweet.
As I walked into the room Emily had the biggest smile on her face, she took me by the hand and guided me to a chair, which she then pulled out for me to sit on.
She then asked me in her sweetest voice if I would like tea or coffee and then skipped off to go and get it, but not before pointing out the various cakes, cookies and sandwiches on the table.
A couple of minutes later she returned with a cup of tea. You should have seen the look on her face, she was so proud!
Never mind the fact that the tea was cold and weak, to me it was the best cup ever!
Happy Monday everyone!
The kids are back at school and life is back to normal. I have to say, the half term has just flown by.
We've been really busy, so busy even that yesterday evening I HAD to go to bed at 9, I just couldn't stay awake any longer.
I told my boss this morning I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend (and half term) but he didn't seem convinced enough to let me have two days off, haha.
So last week the kids went on a computer / minecraft course which they both absolutely loved.
Emily was crying when she had to come meet us for lunch on the second day. My dad and brother had travelled over from Belgium for the day so we thought it would be fun the pick the kids up during their break to have lunch with us...little miss got very upset she had to leave, such a drama queen!
Both her and Dylan then wolfed down their lunch so they could rush back. Never seen two kids so enthusiastic to go and learn!
I'm so glad the weather stayed dry for half term, and not only that...the sun came out as well!
No way was I going to let the kids sit inside in front of the TV.
Saturday we went to town to do some quick shopping. I also promised the kids to take them to their favourite play park near the beach.
It's a bit of a treat for them if we go there on the cliff lift. They LOVE it!
It takes us straight to the park entrance and then they just run all the way to get to the actual play park.
It's so beautiful out there and some of the views are spectacular.
Emily quickly made some new friends and played pirates while Dylan went straight for the zip wire.
They had so much fun!
When they were ready to go back home we took them back the beach way, it's always fun to throw pebbles into the water.
No surprise when I say Dylan got wet feet. He somehow always ends up getting wet when we're on the beach!
Sunday we met up with family and after we went to the country park.
The kids ran straight to the little play park where Dylan dominated the roundabout and Emily the swings.
We then continued on for a walk around the lake in search for the ducks.
On of the kids favourite things to do is race sticks down the waterfall. Such a fun game.
The rest of the day was spent at my brother in law's where we had an amazing Sunday roast dinner.
Tired we got home, bathed the kids, put them to bed and then fell asleep on the sofa at 8.
See, I do need a weekend to recover!
