What Made Me Happy This Week #10

This week has been an amazing one as we got some amazing news at the start of the week about something that has been playing on my mind for a while, I will explain in the happy list. We have had a mix of weather this week so we have been making the most of it and when the sun shines we are getting out there and enjoying it while we can, because with the British summer you just don't know when the next bout of sun will come.

1. Finley got his first choice school place. All those who read my blog will know that we had some disappointment with the school place with Finley being offered his second choice school because of our house move, but on Monday I got THAT call. The school called me and said a place had come up and it was going to be offered to Finley, I obviously said yes and took the place! We are so excited for him to start school and so very happy that it has all worked out.

2. A family day out. On Saturday after Mr C finished work we headed to a local park & lake with a picnic as the weather was so nice. We have never been here before so we weren't sure what to expect but it was brilliant. The park was amazing and the lake walk wasn't too long for the boys with their little legs, and the sun shone for us which was brilliant.

 

3. Birthday Meal. It was Mr C's birthday last week so on Saturday we headed out with our friends for a meal at a local restaurant, the food and company was fantastic and we all had a brilliant time. We then indulged in the cake when we got home which was pretty scrummy!

4. A day with the in-laws. On Sunday Mr C's parents came over and I cooked a roast. It really wasn't the weather for a roast but we had such a lovely day pottering around the house and popping to the park.

5. A 7 mile run. On Sunday morning I joined the local running club for a run and it was brilliant, it was great to have the company on a long run and the support to get through it, we have an 8 miler this Sunday!

6. A day with my Nan. I am very lucky to have my Nan live so near and for us to be so close. On Thursday we headed over there and went to a local park for the day, with a picnic and the sun shining it was a great day. The boys had so much fun and it was lovely to get out somewhere new.

7. With my boy. With Noah being a preschool on Friday, Finley and I went out with our friends to a local National Trust sight. The sun was shining and there was a park and icecream, what more could two 4 year olds want?!

8. Watching Finley grow. This week Finley really suprised me with picking up his chalk and writing 1-10 with no help at all. He has come on leaps and bounds at his new preschool and they have said how much he is loving his numbers - proud mummy moment.

 

Just Another Linky #55

Welcome to week 55 of Just Another Linky with myself and Beth at Life As Mum. This is the place to link up any post, old or new, that you are really proud of and would like to show up. We have a great selection of link up's each week so all topics and subjects are welcome.

Another great week here with some brilliant news, you can read about it in my linked post, and lots of fun days with the boys. Hoping for some sun this weekend, but who knows with the British summer time!

Now onto this weeks linky, lets get going!

Meet your hosts

Me - Kirsty - Something Crunchy Mummy - @crunchy_mummy

 

 

Beth - Life-As-Mum - @lifeasmumblog

Here are just a few linky rules:

• No more than 2 posts a week - Please! There have been some people linking up more than this, please stick to just the 2 so it is fair on everyone.

• Comment on the hosts posts and at least 1 other posts, more if you can.

• New or old posts welcome.

• Grab the badge below so everyone knows where to find us.

Feel free to tweet your post, along with the hashtag #justanotherlinky, mentioning me @crunchy_mummy and Beth @lifeasmumblog and we will retweet.

By linking up to this linky you are giving Beth & Kirsty the right to copy one of your photos if you are chosen for the Favourite Post of the week.

We are open every Saturday from 12am until Monday at 11:55pm.

This weeks Favourite Posts

My favourite post this week is by Helen at All The Beautiful Things with Our Week as it has a very important message in it - go and take a read.

** GRAB THE BADGE **

 

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An InLinkz Link-up

A Sense Of Belonging

This past month has been a rollercoaster but an incredible one. We have now been in our new house for just over a month and from day one it has felt like home. The drive on moving day from our old town to this one had a feeling of driving somewhere that we have always meant to be. I'm not saying our old house didn't feel like home, because it did, just the town wasn't home. It didn't have the feel our new one does, I felt isolated and a little alone once Mr C had left for work. The house we lived in was definitely home but as they say you make a house a home. That was because it was where our family was.

When I walk through our new door, or even see it, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. The boys fill it with laughter and fights but that's what brothers do. They fill our home with love and once the door is locked at night and it's us four its an incredible feeling.

It feels like this is somewhere we were always meant to be. I walk Finley to preschool and I smile & say hi to people I don't actually know but because we live here we do, if that makes sense. I feel a sense of community and I know if we needed anything there would be someone there. 

The other best bit is friends. Our friends are literally just up the road and to have them over for drinks, a cup of tea or just a simple catch up really is amazing. To know if we needed someone to look after the boys they would be there - like the other evening my best friends husband looked after the boys, as she was at work, and we had a school meeting to go to.

I feel a sense of belonging, I'm where I'm supposed to be. And we are all so incredibly happy!

My Sunday Photo 08/05/16

Beautiful Amsterdam

What Made Me Happy This Week #9

This week has been a bit of a surreal one with Mr C and I having a trip to Amsterdam & then London over the weekend until Tuesday evening. I missed the boys so much but we have still managed to pack lots of fun into the end of the week. Our break away was lovely but it is so nice to be back being Mummy, even if it is rather stressful!

1. Amsterdam. There is only one word to describe our weekend away and that is awesome! We had so much fun and so many laughs, it was an experience but a bloody good one!

 

2. London. We flew into Luton Monday night, said goodbye to our friends and Mr C & I headed on into London. This is because Tuesday was his 30th birthday so we had a day of sight seeing and exploring planned. We went to the London Dungeons, ate at our fav restaurant as they have our favourite wine and explored, it was lovely!

3. Catching up with friends. After a hectic weekend it was back to being Mummy with play dates and friends. 

5. Westonbirt Arboretum. It has been a while since we have been to one of our favourite spots what with the weather not being great and everything just being hectic, but we got there this week and it was beautiful. The boys did play up and were little monsters but the whole place was covered in bluebells and I managed to get some great pictures and had a lovely time with my best friend.

6. Finley & Mummy time. On Friday while Noah was at preschool, Finley and I had plans to go to the steam museum. But the sun was shining so we changed our plans and headed to Bowood as I knew Finley would love all the climbing and the fresh air. I wasn't wrong and we had the most wonderful time just the two of use, we shared a picnic and I watched him climb so high with no fear at all.

7. Getting back into a routine. Going away is always lovely, and having time as a couple is great but coming back to the boys and getting back into our routine is also brilliant. I love to plan and be organised and since the house move this hasn't been happening. But with not many plans that organisation can come back and we can finally get into a new routine.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a lovely week! 

Just Another Linky #54

Welcome to week 54 of Just Another Linky with myself and Beth at Life As Mum. This is the place to link up any post, old or new, that you are really proud of and would like to show up. We have a great selection of link up's each week so all topics and subjects are welcome.

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week, we still have our 1 year birthday competition running to win 1 of 2 Next £10 gift cards which runs until the 16th May. All you have to do to enter is click on the rafflecopter link below - good luck!

I am now back from Amsterdam, tired but rearing to go after a lovely and exciting break with my husband and our friends. His birthday celebrations carry on this weekend with a meal tonight with a brilliant group of friends and then a day tomorrow with his parents.

Now onto this weeks linky, lets get going!

Meet your hosts

Me - Kirsty - Something Crunchy Mummy - @crunchy_mummy

 

 

Beth - Life-As-Mum - @lifeasmumblog

Here are just a few linky rules:

• No more than 2 posts a week - Please! There have been some people linking up more than this, please stick to just the 2 so it is fair on everyone.

• Comment on the hosts posts and at least 1 other posts, more if you can.

• New or old posts welcome.

• Grab the badge below so everyone knows where to find us.

Feel free to tweet your post, along with the hashtag #justanotherlinky, mentioning me @crunchy_mummy and Beth @lifeasmumblog and we will retweet.

By linking up to this linky you are giving Beth & Kirsty the right to copy one of your photos if you are chosen for the Favourite Post of the week.

We are open every Saturday from 12am until Monday at 11:55pm.

This weeks Favourite Posts

** GRAB THE BADGE **

 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

An InLinkz Link-up

A Break From Being Mummy

Now I know how incredibly lucky I was to be able to do this and it wouldn't have happened without my amazing Mum and her partner. Last weekend we went away for my husbands 30th Birthday to Amsterdam with some friends of ours and we had the most awesome time, but I did miss the boys an awful lot. But knowing how much fun they were having at home made it that little bit easier.

We headed off on Friday night to stay over at Luton as we had an early flight on Saturday morning. As we were leaving I had just put the boys to bed and Finley had got really upset, which in turn had upset me. I got into the car with tear running down my face as I felt awful for leaving and for having left with him in tears. But after a call from my Mum to say he had settled and gone to sleep, I started to tuck into the pick n mix and felt a whole lot better. They were in safe and loving hands.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday and I felt like a child at Christmas, I was so excited for what we had planned and for what we were about to experience. We walked the streets without the worry of the boys letting go of our hands or seeing something they shouldn't. We sat down for some lunch on Saturday and planned the next few days, it was lovely to be enjoying a glass of wine with lunch and having an adult conversation.

I won't go into everything that we got up to as I want that to be something between my friends and family as it's something quite personal to us but I will say we did nearly everything you should do when you go to Amsterdam when you are trying to relive your youth lol! We had so much fun and so many laughs that I don't think I stopped smiling the whole weekend. It was great to be sharing it with some great friends and it was also lovely to have some time with Mr C, connecting again as a couple, as that is something that is very hard and can get lost when you have children.

I don't feel guilty saying this but I loved our time away from the boys as I think it was something we needed. I love my boys with all that I have and they are my whole world but I was beginning to feel like I was losing my way as me, and I was just Mummy. The trip let me be me, let me giggle at things I wouldn't when with children and let us have conversations that you can't have with children around.

We sat and ate our breakfast, lunch and dinner in peace with great conversation, we got to enjoy a glass of wine with our meals and go out in the evening, drink all we wanted and not worry about the hangover. We got to experience things we wouldn't have done with children in tow and we got to be us again and not just Mummy & Daddy.

Saying that, I was so glad to get home and give the boys the biggest hug in the world. When we walked through the door, Finley had just woken in a sleepy state so I ran up the stairs to see him. He can't remember it as he was half asleep but that feeling of seeing him and then going in a giving Noah a kiss was like the feeling when I first met them when they were born. My heart was full of love and I felt like I was back where I belong.

Yes it was amazing to be Kirsty for a few days, but it was even more amazing to come back and be called Mummy again. Also my husband and I have reconnected and are refreshed to start our next adventures as a family in our new house.

Monthly Bucket List - May's List And Update

How can another month have gone by? It really doesn't seem possible but I don't seem to have done too bad with April's bucket list considering we moved and have had a lot of change. I am loving doing these little monthly lists because even if I don't look at them again once they are written they are in my mind and I have mini goals for the month. 

So here is how I did with April's list

1. Move house. Yes!! We did it on the 8th April.

2. Keep running up. Another yes! I have been running a little more since moving as the routes around here are beautiful and I have also joined a running club.

3. Find a new book to read.I haven't done this one. I have got a book to read, I just haven't started it. With the move and settling in the time just hasn't been there.

4. Get organised on the blog.This has been a big no. I have found blogging a bit hard since moving, not sure why, so it is taking a back burner at the moment until I get my mojo back.

5. Cook more.Yes! I have even done a bit of baking in our new kitchen and evening meals have been much more meal like rather than freezer thrown together meals.

6. Eat healthier! Another yes. I have been making sure I have salads for my lunch, but have still been having the the odd biscuit and cake here & there as a treat.

This month I am going all out as we are now settled in the new house and have much more time on our hands as we are not travelling so much, here there and everywhere.

1. Go to the park. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to parks around us so we have no excuse not to get to one. I want to make sure we go to the park at least twice a week, as the boys love it so much. And it gets us out the house.

2. Run a couple of 10k's. I have been continuing to run but they have been shortish distances, for me anyway, of about 5k/6k. I did run 9k last weekend and it was great so I need to get back into running the long distances at the weekend. Hopefully joining the running club means I will get to do this.

3. Get back into blogging. It isn't like I have been short of things to write, I just seem to have lost the mojo so I am hoping a nice break away for my husbands birthday will recoup me and I will get back into it.

4. Sort out the garden. We have a beautiful garden in the new house with artificial grass but it is very bare. There is a flower bed which I am going to go to the garden centre with my Nan and get some advice to spruce up the garden!

5. Survive Amsterdam. We are off to Amsterdam this weekend for Mrs C's 30th birthday with our friends so hoping for lots of laughs and drinks, but also hoping to come home relatively unhungover haha!