My happy moment today came when we found out that Seb has been given a place at his first choice secondary school. His face was an absolute picture of delight and I was choked (& relieved) to tears. But as I didn’t get a snap shot of any of that, here’s one of me all cozy and warm, enjoying free rein of the double bed (my better half is away….missing you darling, of course….chuckle, chuckle!). Monday is done. Secondary school stress is done. I am done for today. Happy!
…soooooo shiny!
I’ve done lots of things today that have given me happy moments. My 12k run in the sunshine got me off to a good start this morning. And with ‘screen-free-Sundays’ continuing to be a success-stroke-novelty, I was delighted by the kids’ proud and proactive efforts to finding things to do that didn’t involve iPads. We all had a lovely walk with the dog finishing with a round of scones and coffee cake in my very favourite tea shop. And reading Billionaire Boy with Reece tonight brought tears to our eyes – bum humour never fails to do so. But all that aside, my most memorable happy moment of the day came when I finally got round to cleaning the oven. I know, I know…such an admission exposes the full extent of my craving for cleanliness and control, and makes me sound like a complete muppet (and a bit of a bad parent too, if you think about it)….
Another day, another bag but this one was only 99p from TKMaxx and helped to remind me that in just one month’s time, I’ll be flying to NYC! So in preparation I’ve now compiled a ‘must do’ list that includes:
A spot of retail therapy in preparation for my upcoming girlie trip to NYC provided me with today’s happy moment. Everything else was just stressful! #TGIF
The kids got themselves ready for bed tonight because Dave and I were simply too exhausted. We bribed them with the promise of Oreos if they cooperated and no one had a wash. But my grubby little angels were delighted with themselves and we were gleefully gobsmacked. Here’s to detachment parenting!
Dog walking always sounded like such a chore to me before we actually got a dog of our own. And some days it does require grit-your-teeth-and-just-do-it effort (particularly when it’s pouring rain or I have a cantankerous toddler in tow). But with all the kids packed off to school and nursery this morning, I enjoyed some alone time (and today’s happy moment) with my scruffy, puddle loving, dirt magnet pup Beano.
I’m still surprised by how relaxing and rewarding it is to walk the dog. Taking him out at least once a day is a small goal that I can quite easily achieve. I get a sense of satisfaction from doing it and a 45 minute walk adds balance to the day. When I’m later sat flopped in front of the TV or I find myself fretting about all of the outstanding things on my To Do list, I can console myself with the reminder that ‘at least I walked the dog’.
It’s also lovely to see how much Beano loves his walks. He jumps a good three feet off the ground whenever he spots me holding his lead and always leaps into the car boot with flare and delight. Apparently a car journey seems to suggest a more interesting destination for exploration than our less ambitious route through the local playing fields.
The way he bounds and leaps across fields to catch birds always makes me giggle and his downhill bum shuffling manoeuvres to wipe leaves off his arse are laugh out loud hilarious. So although this dog owner/lover business is still quite new to me, I’m beginning to enjoy it, especially since the ‘chew everything & poo anywhere’ phase seems to have finally passed.
After a lively, interesting and brilliantly attended supervision session this evening, I’m going to bed feeling inspired and motivated by the wonderful BfN volunteers I work with and supervise. I’m also feeling a bit wired after all the cups of tea and cake we got through!
Today was a good work day as I got to listen to some fascinating talks at a Perspectives on Breastfeeding conference. My personal fav was an inspiring presentation by an IBCLC who’s work in a disadvantaged Ethiopian hospital has had a hugely positive impact on early neonatal care and feeding. But my actual happy moment came after I finished delivering my own talk on supporting vulnerable women to breastfeed. My preparation and practice paid off as I managed to get through my 30 minute PowerPoint presentation without fluffing my ‘lines’ or saying anything wholly inappropriate (which is a constant fear of mine, both when giving presentations to roomfuls of people and when attending dinner parties). I find public speaking to be numbingly nerve-wracking and adrenaline-inducing addictive. As soon as I finished I actually wanted to do it all over again (which is lucky really, as I’m speaking at another conference on Friday).
Much as I’d like to, I really can’t pretend to be much of a baker. Despite my best efforts (and hours spent watching The Great British Bake Off), I always end up with dry sponges and soggy bottoms. But after spending a rainy Sunday afternoon in the kitchen with a cookbook, my peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookies turned out rather well (by my standards at least). So, there may be hope for me yet. I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of a Bree Van de Kamp, without the twin sets and pearls.
Coming home after a week away was my happy moment today. Back to my own bed, my usual routines and my secret stash of sherbet dipdabs…☺️ And Beano seems to agree with me now that he’s be reunited with our heated kitchen floor #homesweethome
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