This time two years ago we had just started building our extension, by September it was complete. We added a third bedroom/office/craft room, doubled the size of our living room and added a huge storage cupboard aka the cupboard of dreams.
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MONEY-SAVING TIPS FOR TRAVELLING
Easy ways to save money on your summer holiday
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Half Term Plans
Other than being slightly confused with the May half term being fairly solidly in June I can’t believe how quickly it has come around. It means we’re nearly at the Summer holidays and that means L has nearly finished Key Stage 1!
I can’t go much further down that rabbit hole, this year is going by too fast and we haven’t really done anything!
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Goals for the Year Update
You may remember back in February I’d set myself some goals for the year. Well it turns out some of them have been rather easy and I should have stretched myself further. Others have seen no movement whatsoever, so here is a little update on my progress and some new goals where needed.
Read 12 Books this Year
Well I’m currently reading book number 11 and I’ve listened to an audiobook with and am halfway through a second audiobook. So I think this needs revisiting as we’ve not even finished April yet. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Little Friends by Jane Shemilt and I’m still reeling after Red Notice by Bill Browder. I can’t even talk about Firefly Lane yet, watching it on Netflix wasn’t enough so I had to read it, a rollercoaster of emotions that one! At the end of the year I’ll write a proper round up of what I have read but for now I think I need to stretch my goal to 20 books.
Find 100 Geocaches this Year
Well I’ve smashed through this one. When I wrote it I had actually meant just to get my total to 100, from the 35 I was at. It had taken me a fair while to get to 35 so I felt that was achievable and reasonable. Well, as of today my total is 162. So clearly that needs to be revisited. So I’m going to say I’d like my total to be sat at 300 by the end of the year, that is a real stretch but I think it’s achievable. We’ve well and truly got the bug and have been having a blast going out and hunting for them, so it’s a fun challenge to have.
Go on 1 Holiday
We are no closer to achieving this than when I wrote it in February. I’d still love to get away somewhere in the UK this year but it’s not feeling overly possible at the moment. I’ve seen people having UK breaks but I’m not sure I’m there yet. I would still love to get back to Bluestone so I’m hoping we all get some time off together were I can afford that but it seems that it’s school holiday prices holding us back, not the restrictions around Covid-19. That being said we have booked a holiday in Turkey for next year, so fingers crossed that actually goes ahead. So this goal is to remain.
Use my Spa Vouchers
Friday. FRIDAY!! The spa is open, they have spaces and on Friday I shall be having a Life Saving Back Treatment. A salt scrub, hot stones and a massage. I was starting to think I’d never get to use my vouchers, having had to extend them twice, but when they reopened on the 12th there was no stopping me. I called and literally went through all my days off until they had a spot and it wasn’t as long of a wait as I had expected. I’m rather excited. So by Friday this shall be ticked off and done.
Teach L to Swim
So pools are open now but we haven’t been yet. The private pool we were using hasn’t had any spaces and as that’s where L feels most comfortable it’s definitely where I want at least his first swim after such a long break to be. So I shall keep my eyes peeled for any available swim slots. Once he’s gotten back into the swing of it I think we’ll have to start booking public pools so he can get the maximum amount of time in the water possible, but as he’s got such a fear of it I don’t want to push him too hard, too fast. This one was always going to be the hardest challenge, but fingers crossed we’ll make some progress soon.
Easter Holidays 2021
Normally before a school holiday I’d write something about our plans, what we’d be up to and where we’d be visiting. Maybe even a review or two about local attractions for other people to consider. Things are a bit different at the moment though.
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Back to School – Again
I’m feeling really weird about all the back to school messaging right now. I’m pleased he’s going back, he needs it, I’ve tried my best but ultimately I’m not a teacher and in a very poor substitute for playtime with his friends. I’m also sad he’s going back, I really will miss him. I’m worried too, worried it’s too much, too soon, concerned that it might lead to further lockdowns and the impact that would have.
Now I need to stress that these are just the rather muddled thoughts of a stressed out, worried, tired and confused mum. This is not a well balanced, researched and thought out view on the current state of affairs. I know very little about politics. I haven’t researched anything. I’m just trying to get by and writing helps.
My 2021 Goals
I’m not a big fan of New Year Resolutions. Never have been really. But now the longest month in the history of time is over, I have realised that I’ve got some goals I’d like to achieve this year. Nothing really big or exciting but some things I would really like to achieve. So here they are, my 2021 goals.
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So how’s this lockdown treating you all? I’m finding it rather testing of I’m honest. Some things are so much better, some things are so much worse and oddly some of the things that are better are adding to the worsened. Any of that make sense? Probably not. I think there’s every chance I’ve lost the plot.
The first lockdown was ok, the weather was good, I had all those extra time to spend with L. We got the paddling pool out, we raised frog spawn, we cycles and walked and explored areas of our local countryside we’d never been too before.
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Our Halloween 2020
As you know I’ve been on a quest to find some different ways to make sure Halloween stays fun this year.
I’ve found balloons and cakes and bugs and crafts. I’ve even found mini breaks away and experience days. Halloween is sure to be fun this year and different in many ways. I’m happy that L won’t miss out just because he can’t go trick or treating with all his friends like he wants.
Getting Through Lockdown
Oh my word the last few months have been weird. In the weeks preceding lockdown I had come to the realisation that my mental health was really suffering and I needed some help, but then of course it became a lot harder to come by.
The initial few weeks of lockdown were just what I needed, something to focus my energy and my mind on, then as it became the new normal things started to slip again. So I focused on the smaller things I could do to make everything a little bit better.
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