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Seb started school this year! It was a massive change for us as a family and we didn’t quite know what to expect. My sisters and I were home educated from a young age so the whole school system was completely new to me. To be honest I was apprehensive about sending him, after personal experiences I wasn’t overly keen on the idea or the school system, I had seriously been considering home schooling my children. Everyone was telling me it would be good for him so in September 2019 I applied for his primary school place.

Applying for school

Now I know some counties are going to do this differently but for us it was a pretty easy process and all done online.Tthe application was in two parts so I had to register with my local council, I then went to the school admissions part of their website and registered for school admissions. We got a letter through the post telling us where to go, but if you don’t get a letter then head over to your local councils website. My letter said applications had to be in before January for the best change of getting your first choice.

The second part of the application was filling out all of our details including Seb’s. We then had to pick a school, and for us it was an easy choice, we wanted the one in the village that we lived in. You can choose up to three. Again pretty easy, the whole application process took about 20 minutes.

Finding out if your Child got their School Place

After you’ve filled out the online application, you will then be given a date of when you will find out if you got your first, second or third choice school, usually in the April of the year your child is due to start school. We got a letter in April informing us that Seb did get his first choice. If you have an older sibling in the same school then its more than likely that they will get the same school, so hopefully Ophelia will get the same school in 2021!

Welcome Packs

Shortly after we received confirmation the school sent out welcome packs with more forms to fill in, details of your child, needs, health, your details. Free school meals etc. The welcome pack also included information about school uniforms and induction days. There are term dates on your schools websites, I’ve already filled out my calendars and planning stuff for the half terms and holidays!

Usually the teachers will do a home visit over the summer holidays, unfortunately due to Covid Seb did not get this, but they did give us extra information on what to expect in Reception year and how we can prepare him for school.

We got some information about what they expect the children to be able to do before they start school. But don’t worry if your child cannot do all of the things on the list, Seb couldn’t zip up his own coat, and he wasn’t great at sharing toys, but now he can, this list is there so you can start helping your child to learn these things, so please don’t worry.

There was also some information for your child too, it talks them through their day at school, what things they will be learning and things they can play with. Our school had also created some videos of ‘Meeting the teachers’ and the teaches had also recorded some story time sessions. If your eager like me then these videos may already be on the schools website!

School Uniforms and Bags

Each school will have their own policy on school uniforms, but I will share ours with you.

The only items that needed the school logo on were Jumpers and Bookbags, we were sent a link to where we could purchase the school jumpers and were told that Seb would be given a bookbag on his first day. It said on the website to get your orders in before August so that they can guarantee delivery before the start of the school term.

The other uniform items were white polo shirts, grey shorts or trousers (green dresses or grey skirts for girls). Black shoes, trainers, grey or black pe shorts/joggers with a white sports top. Wellies and and all in one waterproof for forest school. Remember to make sure everything is labelled with your child’s name on it.

Its a good idea to also get them a key chain for their book bags so that they can identify their own book bag.

Seb also needed a water bottle I got a sturdy one on Amazon. We opted for free school meals, but if you want your child to have packed lunches then you’ll also need a lunch box that’s easy for your child to open, remember to label this too!

Induction Days

Seb’s first induction day was 27th August 2020, it was a 1 hr 30 minute session where he got to play and make something while parents have a quick meeting with the teachers. This felt a bit rushed and disorganised but due to Covid I was expecting that.

We had no idea where to take him as again, due to Covid we hadn’t had the opportunity to visit the school prior to him starting. Luckily the school had recognised this and had someone at the gate ready to show parents where to go and told us where to pick him up from.

His first week at school was alternate mornings and afternoons to ease them in gently. Luckily for us Seb has never had any tears when we’ve said goodbye. On his first day without us, I could see him getting a bit worried but the teacher took him in a showed him where to hang his coat and bookbag, and now we are in part two of the Autumn term he runs in and often forgets to say goodbye to us!

Your school may do induction days differently, you should receive this information within your welcome pack. If you don’t and you have any questions, don’t worry (I had lots of questions) you can ring or email the school and they will be happy to help.

School Lunches

All EYFS children (in our school) are entitled to free school lunches. I think this goes up to year 3. Your school may do this differently but this information should be given to you in your welcome pack.

We have decided to let Seb have the free school meals, he loves a hot dinner! Some advice we were given about packed lunches was that no nuts or anything containing nuts was allowed in case anyone suffers from a nut allergy. Other than that we could have put what ever we wanted in his lunch as long as it was balanced, so sandwiches, fruit, yoghurt, crisps etc. Pretty much what you would have on your lunches at home!

The First Day

Seb was so excited to go to school, we had no tears, although I could see he was a little nervous about leaving us. But the teachers are great, especially with children who get a little tearful. If there are any issues with your child settling on their first day the school will ring. Also if you have any concerns about leaving your little one in tears at school, don’t hesitate to ring the school, they expect this and are more than happy to reassure you, especially if the school process is your first time, like it was for us. I had literally no idea what to expect, and now its like second nature we don’t even think about it! I will go into more detail about his first day in another post!

I have also just applied for Ophelia’s School place for September 2021, I really cannot believe how quickly this has come around for us. This time next year I will be applying for Rosalie’s school place for 2022!!!

I really hope this post helps and if you have any other questions about your little one starting school, leave me a comment here or send me a DM on Instagram I’m always happy to have a chat x

I’m writing this letter sat at my desk while you watch your dad cook our usual Sunday roast. Sebastian you are 3, Ophelia you are 2 and Rosalie you are 1. Life for us, right now, is good. It’s by no means perfect and there’s lots of changes in the years to come for all of us to be exactly where we want to be and enjoy our lives together even more.

All I want is for all of us to be 100% happy, and for the most part we are, but me and your dad have had a rough few years. Which one day I will go into detail, but for now my babies, here is a letter for you.

Motherhood

Motherhood has become the most, scariest, stressful, full on milestone in my life. But you three munchkins, are the greatest gifts anyone could wish for. I love being your mummy, even its it not perfect.

Today, I’ve woken up to your smiling faces and your giggles, I love hearing you all playing in the play room when I wake up, it fills my heart with a warmth that I cannot describe. I’ve fed you, played games with you, watched films snuggled up on the sofa with you. I’ve changed your stinky bums and Seb I’ve cleaned up the puddles of pee you leave on the bathroom floor because your forgot to use the step again, and aim and fire!

Phee today you’ve made me smile and laugh at the most simple of things. Rosa you are still little enough to give me those newborn like snuggles I cherished!

You have all taught me how to live in the moment, to be in the here and now. We have the best of fun, and you have shown me that nothing else really matters as long as we are happy and together. You three have shown me what love truly is.

You are so close in age, some days I struggle, no in fact most days is a struggle at some point. I sometimes feel like I’m losing my shit and want to pull my hair out. Other times I feel like I got everything together, I feel like I finally have a grip on this whole motherhood thing! But no matter what I love you all and nothing will ever change that. You three and your dad are the greatest things that have ever happened to me!

My love for you all

Words will never be able to describe the love a mother has for her children. It’s so many thoughts, feelings and emotions, that it’s just too hard to articulate into words. I’m sure one day you will understand, when you have children of your own you’ll know what I’m jabbering on about!

I want you all to know that no matter what, your dad and I will be here, even when we are not, we will still be worth you spirit, just like your great nanny is still with me. I don’t just want to be your mum, I want to be your best friend, your counsellor, the person you come to first if you have a problem, or if shit ever hits the fan (I hope it never does, but just in case). I will be here whenever you need me to listen, to guide and to love you unconditionally.

Every day you all amaze me and I’m sure you always will. I really am so proud to be your mummy, and even on our hardest of days, there’s a spark in each of you, letting me know that I can do this that I am a good mum, and that you are not just demon children trying to drive me insane.

” Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your children”. – Sam Levenson

Promises to you

I promise to be the best mummy I can be. I promise to keep you safe, to teach you, to help you grow into kind, caring and loving human beings.

‘Each day of our lives we made deposits in the memory banks of our children’. – Charles R. Swindoll

Making memories is possibly one of the greatest gifts any parent can give to their children. I have so many lovely memories, and memoires that have made me who I am today. Not all memories will be fantastic, and some of them you may even want to forget (none of us really know what life has in store for us), but it’s those memories that make you strong, that teach you life lesson for the better. But I promise to make only good, happy memories with you, these will be the memories that you remember the most. When your dad and me have left this world for the spirit realm, these will be the memories that you cherish forever, and when your older and watching your children and maybe even your children’s children you’ll know exactly what memories I’m going on about.

I promise to make so many memories with you, and even though your a little young right now to remember every single one, I promise to keep these memories alive. I will hold these memories close to me, and remind you of the fun and laughter we’ve had along the way. Because my babies, 3 years in and it’s already been one hell of an adventure, hey maybe I’ll even write a book for you all one day!

Just remember, no matter how big you get, your still my babies, I carried you, gave birth to you and everything else since, but most of all I love you, I love the bones of each of you and I always will.

Read this letter when you need some answers to life, I hope this letter will remind you that I am always here, whenever and whatever you may need me for. This probably won’t be the last letter I write to you, but this letter is a special one, keep it close my loves!

All my love, always
Mum x

Having a family of 5 (soon to be 6!) can get pretty expensive, but over the last three years I have almost halved our outgoings and expenses. How? Well here’s my top 5 tips for saving. I’ve based these tips around family but hopefully anyone can use these money saving tips.

1. Income, outgoings and budgets

Sit down, grab a cuppa and a pen and paper. Start by writing down all of your income for the month. Then go through everything that leaves your account, rent/mortgage, council tax, internet and phone, media, subscriptions, gas, water and electricity, plus any other bills.

After doing this you will have your budget for the month, now from this budget you need to take off how much you usually spend on food and groceries each month (I will go into more detail about reducing your food bill) as well as travel expenses, and if you can take some off this budget to put into your saving account, even if its £5-£10 (obviously the more the better) it will make you feel good, I promise! Did you know that it’s easier to save if your save your money on the day your paid?

2. Cancel any subscriptions you don’t need or can live without

Before I had children I could easily spend upwards of £50 on other media and subscriptions each month. I have cut these right down now and all I have is Netflix and Amazon Prime, because what parent can’t live without prime?!

Now, with reducing your subscriptions you can do one of two things. You can either add this back into your budget, or you can put it straight into the savings pot, which is what I do every month, this really helps boost your savings and it gets addictive watching your little pot grow!

3. Reducing your grocery bill

Meal Planning

Meal planning is another way I have saved money each month, I plan out my meals for a whole month, as I do one big food shop with all my dry goods, tins, and meats (I freeze all of our meat and get it out the morning I need it). It’s a lose monthly meal plan, but there’s a meal for every day of the month in my cupboards and freezer. I chop and change our meal plan around especially if I’ve had one hell of a day with my three munchkins and I don’t fancy making something from scratch, I grab something out of the freezer.

One pot meals are great as you can make a lot! If I make, say a chilli, I make double and freeze, so next time we have chilli I can just grab this out and heat it up, this also reduces a lot of our food waste.

Shopping lists

Always, always make a food list and stick to it this is my biggest tip. So many times I would walk into the supermarket and come away with things I didn’t need and would often forget things on my list. I do one large online food shop each month, instead of actually going to the supermarket, as your not drawn in by those offers, that honestly make you spend more money than you save.

Look through your cupboards, fridge and freezer, make a list of what you already have in there, so you don’t end up worrying if you already have it or not. This will stop you from buying double and potentially wasting food.

Then for the weekly fresh stuff, I go to the market or local shop and get the weekly essentials like, bread, milk and fruit. I find fruit and veg is usually cheaper off the market and you get more! I have a budget for £10 per week for the fresh stuff, I often buy reduced label essentials, you can freeze most fruits and veg, if they are on their use by date (which is usually the case if you buy reduced) , you can freeze them for up to 3 months, then get them out the day before you need them!

Shop around

Shop around, some weeks you will find that your usual supermarket is more expensive than one you haven’t used in a while. Also if you have young children, keep an eye on who has their baby and toddler event on, because you will be able to pick up, snacks, nappies, toddler toiletries and wipes cheaper! Most supermarkets also have other events on like deals on fruit and veg, and cleaning events!

I also buy supermarket own brand, this has been a trial and error process, some of it is as good as the big branded stuff, some of it is even better, and some of it is just down right nasty and not worth it!

Treats

Takeaways and eating out, sure its a nice treat, but its expensive. I guess this will depend on your budget and how much you want to, or need to save. We have stopped having takeaways all together. Instead we make our own takeaway style dinner once or twice a month. We save eating out for special occasions, so for birthdays, or anniversaries.

4. Dishwashers, Washing Machines and Tumble dryers

Its a well known fact that large household appliances use a lot of power, even the most economical machines still use a lot of electricity if you have them on constantly. We don’t have a dishwasher so that’s one way we are saving money. How do I stay on top of the washing up with three Munchkins? I hear you ask, I wash up as I go along through out the day so there’s not a massive pile of dishes to do come bedtime!

With using the washing machine and tumble dryer, I have a set day for doing all of the washing and most of this will be done late in the evening when electricity prices are cheaper. The tumble dryer, the bane of my life, it such an energy drain, so I don’t use this through the spring, summer or autumn months, I hang my clothes out to dry on the line, if its raining I hang it up inside and open the windows.

A smart meter can help you see how you are using your energy and how much it is costing you. Turning off appliances instead of leaving them on standby helps a lot!

5. Invest in reusable items

I was so surprised at the savings I have made by switching to reusable items.

Nappies and wipes

So, this is something I have started doing over the last year, it started with reusable baby wipes, I bought some baby wash cloths, two Tupperware boxes, 2 large ones for at home and 2 small ones for out and about, I damp the wash cloths, add some essential oil like chamomile or lavender (one box for hands and face, the other box for bits and bums, and one box is used for clean and the other dirty). We have enough cloth wipes to last me the whole week for three messy munchkins, so I still only put my washer on once a week!

This year I have only purchased one box of 12 wet wipe packs this year so I have saved a huge amount considering the ones we buy are £10.50 a box, and I would have needed one and a half boxes to get me through the month. Using the wash cloths has also reduced the amount of times they have got nappy rash, so we have also saved on buying nappy rash creams.

Another way you could save money with your children is by using reusable nappies. The initial investment can be a bit pricey, but remember to shop around and in the long term you will be saving a lot!

Personal products

I think it is ridiculous how expensive sanitary products are. We have recently switched over from tampons and sanitary pads to a menstrual cup and reusable bamboo pads. I have saved around £20-£40 per month doing this. You wash the pads the same way you would the wash the cloth wipes, I do use a biological powder to wash them in and always give them an extra rinse in the machine, to make sure there is no bio powder left in them, as bio powder can irritate your skin. This is definitely worth looking into and actually I find that using the menstrual cup, I leak less throughout Aunt Flo!

Reusable make up pads are also another great alternative to the disposable versions, and will save to money in the long run.

You could also look into using bamboo tooth brushes, its surprising how many plastic tooth brushes end up in our oceans and are hurting our marine animals.

Final Thoughts on Saving

No matter what your income, or your outgoing, I hope these tips will help you with saving in some way. There are lots more tips out there, but these are just my top 5, aimed at families with young children, and I’m pretty sure there are some I haven’t mentioned here, so if you have other money saving tips feel free to drop them in the comments below!

What are you saving for this year?

I am guilty of spending to much time procrastinating, especially scrolling through social media. One search leads to another and before you know it an hour has passed by and you have realised you’ve barely said two words to those around you.

Recently I have found ways to switch off my phone, get away from social media and be more present, more in the moment with those around me.

So if like me your guilty of this and need to find something else to do and switch off for a while, here are 5 things you can do instead of scrolling through social media feeds.

1. Talking

Reconnect with those around you, your partner, your children, even spend some time with your pets! Talk about your day, plan some family time together, you could even set one afternoon or evening aside where yo say no to phones and other technology and play a game or go for a walk, or even cook a meal together.

2. Reading

Since making a more conscious effort to ‘switch off’ I have found that I have time to read all of those books I’ve been meaning to read for the last 6 months. I am gradually getting through the pile of books that have been stacked up on my bedside tale. Not into books? What about a magazine, or even the newspaper?

3. Getting out for a walk

It’s amazing how much time we can spend on social media, but recently I’ve been thinking about the things I’m missing out on. So at least 3 times a week I go out for a walk. I take my children with me, and we just walk. We go wherever our feet take us and see what we can find along the way. The other day we came across an arts and crafts workshop, we went in and spent a god 2 hours having fun and making memories!

Walking can also have a positive effect on your mental health and even just a 30 minute walk counts as physical exercise. Give it a go and see how refreshed you feel!

4. Create a Play list

I Love listening to music, I often get lost in the songs, and it’s a way for me to relax. So turn up the volume and listen to your favourite albums. Dance, get some housework done or just simply chill and relax!

5. Find a hobby

Another way to get off social media for an hour to two is to find a hobby. It needs to be something you that you really want to do and enjoy. It couple be anything from playing a sport, sewing, knitting to making model boats or figures.

These are just a few ways you can ‘switch off’ from social media for a while and I am sure there are lots more things to do instead, these are just some of my favourites.

Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users 50% of those users are scrolling through their feeds every day. As a result of having so many active users, Instagram uses algorithms to dictate the order of the posts that users see when scrolling. These algorithms are based on specific signals, they prioritise posts, pushing the most relevant ones to the top and giving them the most visibility. Ultimately this has been affecting a lot of users engagement rates, So many posts get lost within the hashtags. So how can you increase your engagement rate?

Focus on building relationships not just reach

Since the most recent update to the algorithm, audience loyalty and continual engagement from your followers is more important now than ever before. It’s no longer a case of upload and wait for the likes and comments to roll in, it takes a lot of work if you want to grow your account, it has become more of a community than just a social sharing platform. Which in my opinion is great, but it can take a while to get to grips with this new way of sharing!

When posting the use of prompts within your captions will give you and your followers an opportunity to engage. Open ended questions are a great way to start a conversation. Remember to always go back through your comments and answer any questions your followers may have left for you.

Likewise commenting on other users content will not only help their engagement but it will also potentially boost yours. If you leave interesting and involved comments that are relevant then you may find that some users will look to your profile and return the engagement.

Sure, these algorithms have made it a lot harder for us to get our content seen, but Instagram is doing it for a few pretty good reasons.

Have you heard of Instagram penalties?

Yes you heard me, Instagram has started penalising accounts for many different reasons. It’s no secret that Instagram hates bots or automated content, things like batch following or unfollowing or liking and commenting in such a way that looks spammy.

Instagram is trying to outwit the bots and spam accounts. Which is great but sometimes it can feel a little extreme, and is affecting business and influencers who are trying to grow their social media presence.

These new algorithms limit each user to 500 actions per day. Again this this designed to stop the bots and spam accounts, but recently I have noticed that it is blocking genuine users.

Instagram has started to ban actions on accounts that violate their terms of use. Sometimes you get banned from liking if you have liked too many posts within a certain amount of time. Following dozens of people in one go is also a violation, as is leaving lots of comments as the algorithm sees this as spam. Some bans are lifted within a couple of hours, however I have seen some users banned for up to a month, I’m guessing because they kept violating the terms of use.

Using 3rd party software may also get you Banned

When I say 3rd party software I’m talking about those apps, where you can track your follows and unfollows. Instragram does not allow mass following and unfollowing, and over the last few weeks they have really started to crack down on this. I discovered this when I tried to use my unfollow app. I logged into it, went back to Instagram and a message popped up to say that they don’t allow the use of this software as it violates their terms of use policy. It made me change my password, and logged me back out of that 3rd party app.

Some users have said that they logged back into those apps again and got banned from all actions on instagram, they could only scroll feeds, no liking or commenting allowed, and some were even banned from posting. Some bans have been just for a few days, others have been weeks. This is the same for those app where you can buy likes and follows, yes you can buy these! Don’t though as most of the likes and follows you but will most likely be from bot and spam accounts.

It looks like I have gone off on a tangent here, but bear with me, all of this does affect your engagement and your reach.

Even if you stop using these apps your ban will be lifted but you may still be shadow banned, so if you use hashtags your posts won’t be seen in those feeds. So it’s probably best to stop using these app all together. Getting banned in any way will affect your engagement and you’ll lose followers as people are not seeing anything from you.

So how can I improve my engagement?

So, now that the use of third party apps are a no go how can you increase your engagement? I’ve put together 6 ways you can increase your engagement organically.

1. Actively like and comment on other users posts, just note that comments need to be a sentence of a decent length to count as engagement. The consensus is 4-5 words per comment.
2. Respond to questions, now you can place questions within you caption, as others will do too, but you can also ask and respond to questions within comments, get the conversation flowing!
3. Follow and engage with accounts that are relevant to you. This will make it easier for you to engage and gain engagement back, you’ll likely have more to talk about!
4. Sharing your post to your stories will also help your engagement. The algorithms are to blame here, some of your followers may miss your posts from time to time, so stories is a good way to let people know you have a new post.
5. Now, while apps that get you likes and follows are banned, small engagement groups within the platform are not (YET)! Small comments and likes pods are going to give you a little engagement boost, particularly useful if your a brand or an influencer. Just remember to make sure that the pod is relevant to your niche. For example there’s no point being in a travel pod if your posting about daily family life.
6. Look within your insights (can be found in the settings within Instagram) this will help you to see when your engagement is highest, it will give you a better idea of when to post to maximise engagement, and will hopefully help you post’s reach to new accounts.
7. Limit your posts to 1-2 a day, if you are posting 2 or more posts just make sure you leave 20/30 minutes between each post as Instagram may think your spamming if you post too many within a short space of time.

A quick note on hashtags

Another way Instagram likes to monitor users is through hashtags, this is a sneaky one as you may not realise at all, unless your looking through each hashtag for your post. If your using the same hashtags over and over again, your likely heading for a shadow ban, and this will affect your reach and engagement.

Here’s some tips!

1. Do your research
   
   Make sure your using hashtags that are relevant to your niche, this will make it easier for other users and brands to see your content.
   
2. Try to pick tags with 100K posts or less.
   
   Its easy for your posts to get lost when so many people are using the same hashtag.
   
3. Your allowed to use 30 hashtags within your posts.
   
   Make these count, but at the same time try not to use all of them as this can appear spammy. I usually stick to between 15-20 hashtags depending on the type of post.
   
4. Change up those hashtags
   
   This will prevent you from getting shadow banned. Make sure they are relevant. Seasonal hashtags are a great way of changing things up a bit providing they are relevant your hashtag research will help with this.
   
5. Did you know you can use hashtags in your stories?
   
   Another great way to get your account seen in those relevant hashtags. Not only does each hashtag have its own little feed, but you can also create stories under that hashtag. Just simply add in the hashtag within your own story!

Things about you

Things that make you happy
5 ways to win your heart
1 song your loving right now
Something you miss
5 Facts about yourself
5 things that will make you LOL
5 weird things you like
3 fears
Things people assume about you
Strange habits you have

Start a conversation

Lessons you want your children to learn from you
Childhood memory
Share a quote
Ask a question
Get to know your followers
Current book
Ask for advice
Favourite meal
Favourite treat

Gratitude and self care

Thankful for?
Best thing that happened this week
What are you happy about today?
How have to refilled your cup today?
What is your favourite alone time activity?
Do you journal?
What book are you reading right now?
Daily self care routine

Family Life

Glimpse into family time
Morning routine
Evening routine
Your ideal morning
Bullet point your day
Pets
Family trips
Extended family
Friends
What you do for a living
What does your other half do?
How do you split your time between your children?

Tips and Tricks

Favourite self care tips
What’s in your mum survival kit?
Share a quick tip of the day
Share your favourite mum hack
Best storage solution

Our daily walks!

We tried to get out every day just for that little bit of exercise we were allowed, it felt so good getting out in the fresh air!

Picnics at home

We had many lunches like this during lock down! These three love a food platter, they take after their mumma!

Finding new Local Beauty Spots

We like to get out and about, but before lock down we rarely spent any time exploring our local area, other than the local park. While that was shut during lock down, we found new trails to walk and some lovely spots that we can go back to!

Growing things and exploring nature

The kids planted a box of flowers, we have fruit and tress frowning everywhere in the garden. I’ve found a love for succulents and we discovered what was living ik our back garden!

New habbits

We started some new routines, going to bed earlier, exercising, and also eating better. I had a short stay in hospital due to developing a gluten intolerance so my whole attitude to food has changed during lock down!

My top lock down moment

Spending 4 months as a family, nick and I don’t often get much time together and he doesn’t always get to spend much time with the munchkins when he’s working, so this has been bliss. Even if Nick is messy and gets under my feet a lot!

I could start from the very beginning when I first became pregnant with our now 3 year old son, or I could start when I fell pregnant 2 months after having Sebastian. I could start when I had two babies born 10 months apart. Or having three babies under 2.5! But that would take far too long and to be honest probably needs to be a book all of its own.

Instead I start here…

Sunday 29th December 2019

We’ve had a lovely Christmas, the tree is down and decorations are away. Some normality is beginning to creep back in slowly, I like order and routine, so do the munchkins, but at the same time, it’s been nice to relax, spend quality time together to embrace the chaos and remember what it’s like to be a kid this time of year.

I’m really looking forwards to seeing the new year in, but before I can do that I need to get the house straight, find places for all the kids lovely new toys and games. I’ve also got a bit of organising to do while Nick is home to help with the munchkins!

There’s a lot going on in 2020 for us, from looking to move house, to buying a new car, and would you believe it Sebastian starting school in September. My how quickly the time goes.

Currently sat here in my chair listening to nick organising the kitchen, while the munchkins are playing. My heart feels full, I’ve got a cuppa in my hand watching films.

Everyone seems to be in a good mood today, there’s been a couple of squabbles between the kids. But all in all we’ve had a lovely day just pottering around the house!

Need to write down my near year goals, shopping list, and things we need for the house. I will do that tonight once the little ones are tucked up in bed.