Posts in category: Personal

I have a feeling this week back at school is going to be a bit of a shock to the system.

We all got a bit too used to time off over the half term break, and over the weekend all slept in until gone 9 both days.  The early starts this week are going to be FUN!

It was so nice to have the break from everything last week though.

We had a mix of quiet time spent at home baking fairy cakes and chocolate biscuits, and busier days getting out and about.  I think we got the balance just about right for everyone to feel like we’d really had a holiday from school and the normal routine.

A lot of the week was spent dodging the rain though, so it was quite a relief to see the weather break long enough yesterday to get out for a nice long walk along the beach.  We headed down to Swansea bay and walked along the sand from the guildhall to the cenotaph.

The tide was still on its way in, so we walked along the water’s edge exploring all the exposed stones and pools and ancient sandbanks before they were covered over again by the incoming sea.

I can’t remember the last time I saw the beach at Swansea bay looking quite so pebbly and it was interesting how different the water sounded, rushing in over the stones and into the little pools, instead of just washing in over the open sand.

After we’d visited the cenotaph we stayed up on the prom to walk back to the car, then headed home via the shops to pick up some clothes I’d ordered and the petrol station to fill up the car ready for the new week.

We’ve got a busy week ahead, with everyone back to work and school and then Nerys turning 6.  We’re having a party for her at the house next weekend so I need to get everything sorted and organised and bought and made that we need for that.  She has a lovely little group of friends, so I love having birthday parties for her at the house with them.  It is always a bit more work than I think it will be though!

It’s all worth it though, seeing how much fun they all have together.  But I think Steve and Rhys might escape the madness, and head out somewhere for the duration of the party.  That’s what they did last year and it definitely was a good idea for them to hide from the over-excited screaming and general mayhem.

Do you do birthday parties at home or do you normally hire a hall or do something completely different?!

Well that was another wild weekend wasn’t it!

Storm Dennis came racing through Swansea bringing with it crazy winds and plenty of rain.  So we basically hibernated again.

Rhys and I went out to Aldi on Sunday morning and the children had their swimming lessons but other than that we mainly stayed at home.

Luckily we’d had a bit of a break in the weather at the start of last week, and I took the camera on the school run with me to get some photos for the 10 on 10 project that I do each month.  So I managed to get some photos for this week’s living arrows post out in the lovely natural light, instead of trying to take some this weekend when it was dark and gloomy.

Nerys has been battling a cold for a few weeks now, so really wanted to be wrapped up warm for school with it being so cold and wet out.

What we realised though is that she didn’t actually have a scarf of her own.  So she’s been wearing this huge pink one of mine a fair bit, wrapping it round her like a blanket most days.

I just love these photos of her all bundled up, but then still wearing her delicate little red headband.

I ended up buying her a really pretty scarf, hat and gloves set so I can reclaim my scarves, and luckily she absolutely loves them.  Looking at the weather forecast for the rest of half term I think we’re going to need to be bundled up a bit when we head out and about.

We’re going to the local library this morning for a sports-themed craft and activity session which should be fun, and then we’re planning on doing some baking in the afternoon I think.  That’s about as far as I’ve really got with our plans for the week.

Have you got much planned for this half term holiday?

Anyone else feel like the weeks are already whizzing past this year?

This half term was a relatively short one I suppose, but it does feel like we’re suddenly here at the holidays and I’m not quite sure how that happened.

Actually I think our trip to Bluestone might be a factor in feeling like this half term went by quite quickly.  We went during the second week of school after Christmas and it took another week after that to feel like we were properly back in the swing of things with school and clubs and everything.

We had an absolutely amazing time though, and that holiday gave me quite a few opportunities to take photos of Rhys and Nerys together for the siblings project.

They really loved having that bonus time together, exploring the resort, seeing the winter lights and generally having fun in the pool, the village and the serendome.

The half term holidays started early for us, with 2 inset days at school this week.

We’re still looking forward to next week though, with nothing huge planned but a chance to slow things down a bit, potter around, maybe do some baking.

I’m hoping the weather will be kind to us so we can get out to the park and maybe town one day, although none of us really mind if it’s wet out to be honest.  There are just more chances to get photos of the children when it’s nice and dry out!

What have you got planned for the half term holidays?

We have had a weekend full of a whole lot of nothing and it was just what we needed.

Storm Ciara came at a good time for us really, giving us an extra reason to not really venture out other than to swimming lessons.

All four of us are feeling a bit under the weather.  Nerys has been particularly unwell with a cold and nasty cough all week, and ended up staying home with me on Wednesday.  And she wasn’t the only one.  Rhys was home as well having been up till midnight the night before thanks to an afternoon and evening spent in A&E.

I’d been half expecting a call from the school all day on Tuesday, with Nerys seeming like she might not last the day when I dropped her off.  But when the call came it was actually to tell me that Rhys had fallen in the yard again.

He’d tripped on a skipping rope (we think) and fell, landing on his hands and his face.  The thing that worried me the most was that he can’t remember anything about what happened.  He was also then sick once I got him home, so we headed off to hospital to have him checked over.

Luckily the doctor was happy that he was ok, so he was sent home, but was definitely in need of a day at home the next day to rest up and recover from the shock of it all.

He is well and truly back to his normal self now though, and the cuts and grazes on his face seem to be healing nicely too, luckily.  I think it looked a lot worse that it actually was when all the cuts were fresh, and now they’re scabbed over and healing they don’t seem too bad.

I would love it if this was the last trip to A&E for a while though.  This was the second time in a few months that we’ve taken Rhys after a bump to the head and it’s so worrying.  Although I know we were lucky to make it 8 years before having to do a hospital run!

I’m hoping that this week will be nice and uneventful after last week, although Nerys still seems under the weather with this cold that won’t quite shift.

They only need to make it through three days of school this week though, thanks to inset days at the end of the week.

So fingers crossed we can get there without any major dramas!

Last weekend the children had a sleepover at their grandparents’ house, and in the morning Rhys had his haircut after Nana had hers done.

He was long overdue a trim and opted to have quite a bit cut off, and he’s so happy with the end result.  What he’s really loved actually is all the jokes from people saying they didn’t recognise him because it made him look so different.

We’ve even been putting wax in it in the mornings so he can spike it up just the way he wants it and I’m loving seeing him take that bit of control over the way he looks.

Nerys on the other hand has still never had her hair cut.

At some point we’ll have to at least give it a trim to keep it healthy, but for now she loves it just the way it is.  We were out in the damp, almost drizzle, for a bit after school last Friday waiting for Rhys to finish Taiko drumming club and her hair went so curly from the moisture in the air.

It’s funny, it always has a bit of a wave to it but then these ringlets appear sometimes depending on the weather!

We went out for a walk on the beach at the weekend and luckily we’d tied her hair back in a plait because the wind was absolutely wild down there.

We were lucky though, you could see the rain clouds across the bay but we had sunshine along with the crazy wind where we were.

We’ve got about a week and a half left of school before the children have their half term holiday (with an extra 2 days off thanks to inset days) and I think they’re about ready for the break.  There have been quite a few colds and bugs doing the rounds and everyone is just starting to look a bit worn out, so hopefully we’ll make it to the break in one piece!

How long have you got left before the half term holiday?

I’ve been taking a family photo and joining in with the me and mine project since January 2017.

It’s been a struggle at times to make sure we get a picture each month, but I’m so happy that we make the effort to do it.  We’ve now got 3 years worth of family photos to look back on and it’s funny how clearly I remember taking most of them.

One of the big lessons I’ve learnt since starting this project is to relax the rules a little bit.

I’ll always try to get our family photo during the right month, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.  I used to get quite stressed about it, but I’ve realised that honestly, it really doesn’t matter.  So some months our pictures get taken a day or two into the next month.

Which is exactly what happened this January.

There were so many possible chances to take some family photos but they somehow all slipped through my fingers.

Either the weather didn’t quite play ball, or one of us just wasn’t really in the mood to smile for some photos.

So we left it, and took these today, 2 days into February instead.

We popped into Singleton Park after the children’s swimming lessons and snapped a few quick photos.  To be fair, the children weren’t really in the mood for photos today either but I think they know how happy it makes me to do this so they humoured me long enough to grab a couple.

I hope they keep humouring me for a long time yet, I’m planning on keeping this up for as long as I possibly can!