It seems ludicrous that we are now in July already, does it feel like lockdown has made the days pass by quicker, or is it just me? As we’re in a new month, it seems only right that I should do a favourites post, and it has been quite a while since I have done one. So let’s get into it…

First up, my new planner! As we’re heading to the end of one academic year, it was time to purchase a new one. Because most of my children are still in education and my job is based around the academic year, it makes sense to have a planner that is set around the school year as apposed to a Jan-Dec one. It is laughable at how much time I spend choosing my planner each year, I mean it’s ridiculous, but I am very happy with my choice this year, it’s pretty, it has exactly the right layout for the purpose I need it for and plenty of room for writing my daily ‘to do’ lists. I’m not ashamed to say that I also purchased pastel coloured fineliners and washy tape just for use in my planner, and I’m loving the asthetic of my planner for 2020/2021! 

My next favourite is a YouTuber/influencer/fellow Etsy store owner, and she is called Katnipp. I have been following Catherine since I booked our first Disney holiday a couple of years ago, predominently for her Disney YouTube videos, but her illustration business captured my heart. She is so talented and her illustrations are very cute, I have ordered a few bits from her Etsy store for both myself and my daughter, as we both love her work. I try to keep my little platform as positive as possible and in turn the people that I follow, and she is one of the most positive people I have seen in this industry. Trust me, give her a watch over on Youtube, she just has a beautiful soul and will make you smile.

So the next favourite is a very recent one, and I am extremely late to the party with this one! TikTok! A few people have recommended getting my candle shop up on there to get the word out, and I had always pushed the idea away, But last week, I relented and signed up to it, and oh my goodness, it is more addictive than Facebook! I find myself, without even thinking about it, just on there watching random videos of people doing these silly dances that my daughter has been doing for months! I have always rolled my eyes at this app, but I have found it is quite exciting to see the number of views and followers, go up on your videos. For the record, feel free to follow me on there @sillyoldbearcandles (shamelss plug). Well played TikTok, well played, I am hooked!

Over the month of June, I have really found my love for reading again, I have literally been devouring books, obviously lockdown has helped with this little obsession. I have always found in the past, that I have to be in the mood for reading, and it does come in waves, but when the love shines through, I just soak it up. I think in the first three weeks of June, I read about 6 books, I think my favourite of them all was Billy Connolly’s Route 66, and as the title suggests, it is about his journey down the infamous Route 66, which is something that really appeals to me. Was it the greatest read ever, no, but it was fascinating to learn more about the American culture and how varied it was with each little town that he rode through. I know reading is not for everyone, it pains me so much that not one of my children is a book lover, I really do not undertsand why, but to each his own, and for now, I am enjoying this love for books I am having.

Next up will seem like an odd one, but has brought so much joy to my whole household. Last month, I finally moved our internet supplier to BT, and oh my gosh, my children have never been so happy. Now, I know nothing about internet speeds or anything techy like that, but I do know that our entire house’s gadgets are running amazingly and I have only heard positive and happy comments from the kids. I won’t name our previous supplier, as we still use them for other services, but I am now paying a very similar price for a much better product. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to swap over, but hey, it’s a learning curve.

And my last one is going to  be (another) shameless plug. My absolute favourite of June is my Silly Old Bear Candles shop. I have worked tirelessy to get this up and running, and have loved every second of it, the learning process has been a real journey for me, I am learning a lot about myself through it, but seeing it all come together, has just filled me with pride. I love candle making, and I love owning my own Etsy store, never did I think that I would achieve something like this. As a single mum, you sometimes doubt your desicions, and wonder if you’re doing the right thing. But I will never regret this choice, as I know it’s building a better life for my children. So please do go and check it out, I have pages on both Facebook and Instagram, these both have links to my store and website and as you know I’m on TikTok too. End of plug!

As always, I hope you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

Hello! Apologies for there not being a blog last week, hopefully you’ll understand why by the end of this blog.

Well. what a year it’s been so far! As we’re now half way through I thought I’d take a minute to look back at the past six months that will quite honestly, probably be taught about in schools in years to come!

Isn’t it funny that we all go into a new year with so much hope and dreams, and it’s a running joke that by mid February, everyone’s like, well same old crap again, maybe next year will be better. Well who would ever have predicted this world altering pandemic?! But let’s go right back to January, when for us here in the UK, the pandemic wasn’t really effecting us yet, and we were still full of whistful hopes for 2020. And by in large, aside from watching this virus grow and reap devestation around the world, January was pretty normal, I think I may have even stuck to my new years resolutions for the entire month! February is where it started to take a bit of a nose dive for my little family personally. If you have followed my blog for a while, you’ll know that in Feb half term I unfortunately trapped my femoral nerve, oh my goodness, child birth didn’t even have a patch on the pain I felt with this. The effects of this led me to three weeks in bed, and it was a solid two months before I could say that I felt mostly recovered from it, even now I suffer from days where I still feel stiff and sore, and this will alway leave me cautious now. 

Once feeling recovered enough to return to work, things started to take a scary turn for the UK with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were really starting to see a massive growth rate in cases and sadly deaths, I had barely stepped back throught the door at work before Boris announced that he was placing us in lockdown. And all we could do was watch as this terrifying virus took hold of the country. Over the period of lockdown, we have seen so much sadness, idiocy, fear and grief, but we’ve also seen some wonderful scenes up and down the country, the amazing work that all of the keyworkers have done, day in and day out, we’ve seen communities come together and we’ve seen kindness on every level, and personally, that is what I want to try and remember from this awful period in time, is the goodness that it has brought, yes, we can not ignore all of the devestation, but it has brought people closer than anything we have seen since the end of the world wars. May brought us news and awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. This has seen so many differing opinions, it has seen the usual neanderthals use this as an excuse to turn a peaceful protest into something that ends up in horrendous sadness and chaos. The movement shouldn’t have ever been necessary, and the fact that in 2020 it still is, is truly sad, but if something good can come out of it, it is that people (myself included) are now taking the time to educate themselves, people are having the uncomfortable conversations with their loved ones, and people are finally being proactive, I genuinely hope that this will finally bring the change that needs to happen, and everyone will be seen as equals, we can but hope.

On a personal level, I have achieved something pretty spectacular in the last couple of months, I have started my very own little business. It is still in the very early days stage, and I am putting so much work in behind the scenes, but I am very proud of my little online candle shop. I have always had a huge love for scented candles, so it was a natural progression to start making them, but to be proud enough in the products I make to feel I can sell them, it’s like no other feeing. This is why I have been a little quiet on here at times, as I have been prefecting my candles, and setting up and promoting my shop. Little plug coming…If you love candles, then please do go on over and have a look, I have set up (yes, all by myself), my own website and I now have an Etsy shop too, I would be so very grateful if you do take the time to have a look. I’ll leave the links here, thank you: https://www.sillyoldbearcandles.com

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SillyOldBearCandles?ref=shop_sugg

And there we have it, 2020 thus far…at this point anything is possible over the remainder of this year, so watch this space.

As always, I hope that you’re safe and well.

Much love. xx

Anxiety, wow you have hit me hard today! I’ve never suffered with any form of anxiety or anything like it before, but being in lockdown has brought about some interesting new emotions, and not all of them are positive ones. After twelve weeks pretty much in the safe confines of my house, I thought the possibilty of a bit more freedom would be welcomed, but the harsh reality is, the outside world seems quite scary right now. Pre-COVID, I was an extremely active person, as I currently don’t drive I ordinarily walk everywhere, so maintained quite a good fitness level, fast forward 3 months and all walking virtually ceased happening, and I think this has taken a huge toll on my mental health. I have this past week, had to walk into town to post some orders off, and I it should have been a joyous event, but in all honesty it was just so stressful as people are just not adhering to the social distancing, to be fair, the shops that are open are doing an amazing job, but apparently the general public think that they are immune to this awful virus! I think how other people are responding to this pandemic can have a really detrimental effect on how we’re feeling too, which is sad that with all that is happening around the world at the moment, people are still not being thoughtful of others. 

The other down side to this lockdown that I have experienced, is dramatic weight gain. Now I know, to a degree, I have some control over this, but this is also a knock on effect of being so active pre-lockdown, and then doing virtually no exercise, combine that with lockdown diet, this all equates to a very tubby me. All of the above, has come to a head today, and completely stopped me in my tracks. Today was supposed to be my first ‘social distance’ event with friends to help celebrate one of their birthdays, but instead the thought of leaving the house, even to mix with some of my best friends, just left me feeling sick, sweaty and a crying mess! This, I very quickly realised, is not normal, I am not ordinarily someone who sufferes from anxiety, yes I can find some social situations a little intimidating, but with my nearest and dearest, this should not have been how I was feeling. So I’ve had to come to some realisations this afternoon, I’ve had to address why I am feeling like this, and what I can do to try and overcome this. I am too bloody stubborn to let lockdown take away from me, the things I love the most! 

I know that I have to be pro-active to see a change, and this means pushing my own boundaries, stepping out of the comfort zone I have unknowingly built up over the past twelve weeks. I have made a commitment to myself to get myself  back to the person I love, the person I know is desperate to resurface again. I know how to do this, and I am now taking the steps I know will help me achieve this, by end of the summer I will see that happy, virtually care free girl again, but a wiser version of her. I realise that it’s a process, and not everyone finds it an easy process to go through, but for me, I know just the simple steps of eating healthier and exercising more, is going to have a huge impact for me, and get me back to me! Now I am clearly no expert about anxiety, depression and mental health, I urge you to seek medical help if you’re feeling any of the above, do not leave it and think that it will get better by itself, sometimes we all need a little help, never be too proud to ask for it.

As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

Well it’s been a minute since I lasted sat down to write a post, if you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I’ve been taking time to educate myself and my children following the Black Lives Matter movement. We as a household have watched, read and talked about the horrendous events that have and continue to happen not only in America, but all around the world. I have previously stated, I’m not going to dedicate a whole post to it, as I am not educated enough to word it sensitively and give it the justice it fully deserves, but I am continuing to educate my whole household, as one thing is for sure, we can’t resume normality, we have to make a change, we cannot remain blind and ignorant to things we do not want to see. I am going to continue to share posts over on my social media pages that you can read and watch, to help educate yourselves, so please do go and have a look, and help bring equality for all.

Now I wanted to bring a little bit of fun to my blog today, as we’re still in the midst of this pandemic, I thought we could all do with something to raise a smile. So I’m taking us back to my happy place, Disney of course! Now I know I’ve covered most things Disney related, but I wanted to share some of my favourite characters from Disney across the board. It’ll come as absolutely no shock what so ever, that my most favourite of them all is that silly old bear, Winnie the Pooh. I mean what is not to love about that cuddly, adorable, chubby little bear, I’m pretty sure he will always be my fav. Next up, let’s talk Disney Princesses, and there are plenty to choose from Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, Belle, Moana, Merida, Pocahontas, and this was a toss up between two, Tiana or Jasmine, but ultimately there has always only been one favourite princess for me, and had to be from my favourite Disney film, so of course it was Jasmine that came out on top, so naturally, that meant that Aladdin was my favourite ‘prince’. 

But what about the sidekicks, there are thousands and they’re usually some of the best characters in these films, you’ve got Gus & Jaq from Cinderella, Timon & Pumba from The Lion King, Dory from Finding Nemo, Tinkerbell, Olaf, The Gargoyles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mushu from Mulan, the genie, but I just couldn.t choose between these two, they were equals, and they are Hei Hei from Moana, and Ray from The Princess and the frog, they are just two of the most funny and endearing characters, and in my opinion two of the most underated characters in all of the Disney films! And it wouldn’t be a Disney list of favs, if we didn’t mention the villains! For me, this has to be Pete from Mickey and co, you don’t really hear about Pete, but he’s definitely a great villain!

So if you had to draw up a list of Disney favourites, who would be on yours? As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

As I sit here typing this post out, I am feeling absolutely shattered, I’m aching all over, I haven’t stopped all day and I’ve been indoors away from this beautiful sunshine for the best part of three days. So whilst I sit here, with a big fat glass of wine and I’m starting to wind down for the evening, let me fill you in on what has zapped me of all energy but has me super excited for tomorrow! 

Way back at the beginning of the year, an idea started forming in my head. I was thinking about putting any spare time I had to good use and doing something that I would enjoy, as the kids are getting older and (pre lockdown) were not spending a lot of time with me in the evenings, and I was finding myself a bit surplus to requirements. So as I say, this idea came to me, I could start to have a bash at candle making, I mean I love candles, I get through them at a ridiculously quick rate, and I could potentially give them out as gifts to family and friends. So I took myself onto Amazon and ordered myself a beginners kit and researched information that would guide me through it and then waited for everything to arrive. I was very excited when everything started arriving, and super keen to get started, turns out, I was quite good at this candle making stuff , and I absolutely loved it. And so a new idea was born.

With the thought of having to pick up a second job in the summer when my eldest has decided he finally wants to join the grown up world of full time employment, I thought to myself, you know, this hobby has great potential to become a litte business and allow me to earn some extra pennies without having to take up a second job that I possibly wouldn’t enjoy as much as my main job. So the idea of starting my own little online shop started to take shape!

Fast forward to this Saturday evening, I have spent the last few months perfecting my skills and candles, trying out different scents, planning out how I was going to make it work, designing logos, labels, looking into laws and rules, finding the right equipment I was going to need, and I am now on the eve before the launch of my very own little online shop, to sell my very own, handmade candles. It’s been super hardwork, and I have doubted myself at times, and I know I am still on a massive learning curve, but I am extremely excited for not only tomorrow, but for the months and years (hopefully) to follow, and to see how my ‘Silly Old Bear Candles’ pans out.  Wish me luck…

As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much Love. xx

This isn’t something I tend to go too much into, but I genuinely believe it’s important to give an accurate representation of life and not just the glossy bits, life is not always rosy and the perfect picture that some people will have you believe. In particularly parenting, being a mum or dad is quite frankly, one of the toughest jobs you will ever have, it’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. there are no sick days, no annual leave and you are an emotional punchbag for this minature creation that you have welcomed into the world. Now do not get me wrong, there are definitely more good times than the tougher ones and on the whole, life as a parent is blooming amazing, but what happens when things don’t go the way you were expecting, what happens if and when you find yourself walking this parenting journey on your own, you and your children become a ‘statistic’ family. Well I hope this post makes the picture a little clearer, obviously this is all from my point of view, and I cannot speak on behalf of anyone else.

I do not really know anyone that sets out to be a single parent, it’s not exactly a boasting point to life, and I know I certainly did not see myself bringing up my crew alone, but here we are, and I genuinely would not have it any other way, I consider myself eternally blessed to lead the life I do, with my four best friends in the entire world, all under one roof. However, not every day is all Buttercups and Roses, there have been days where I have cried myself to sleep, I have wished that there was someone that could take over for a couple of hours so that I could regroup my thoughts and work out which is the best way to respond to something, but being the person I am, I pull myself up and get on with things to the best that I can, and it’s these tough times that have made me a stronger person, ensured that I know that I am capable of making the hard decisions, not only make them, but making the right decsions too. I accepted early on that not every day was going to be a good day, they weren’t all going to be productive and feel like I was getting it right, but for every one bad day, there are 20 awesome days. And now as my children are pretty much all into their teens, some already in ‘adulthood’, now I see the hard work has and is paying off, they are good kids, and I made them like that, my tears, their tears, the arguments, the happy times, the amazing times, it’s all shaped them into the incredible people that they have become.

Being a lone parent is the single most hardest thing I have ever done…ever! But it is also the most rewarding and proudest thing I have ever achieved. To hear reports back from people on how respectful and wonderful they, to hear the words ‘You must be so proud’, nothing beats it. And do you know what, I am hugely proud, I’m proud of them for being the incredible humans they are, and I’m proud of myself for raising such awesome kids, but it’s all about team work, we wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t pull together and unite as a family. On the good days they absolutely make parenting easy, and on the tough days, we make it work, and we never ever go to bed on an argument, I’ve always encouraged my children to talk things through, nothing is solved if it’s bottled up, and that goes for arguments too, don’t let things fester, work it out today, even after the sibling punch ups, so that tomorrow is a brighter day from the start. As my regular readers will know, our journey is made a little more interesting as we live with autism in the house, and I cannot lie, that has made life more challenging at times, but all of my little family have their quirks, and from the very start I have always said to them all, we do not let our differences define us, but we live by (my favourite quote) ‘Why fit in, when you’re born to stand out’. And so we embrace what makes us, us, we take on the challenges we face head on, and we accept that every day is different, and they’re not all going to be great, but that we are a great team.

As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx 

I thought I would do another fun post this evening, we all could do with a little bit of fun right now, right?! After working our way through the Marvel movies, it dawned on me that they were made a lot easier to watch because most of the actors in it are very very easy on the eye, maybe not Thanos and his ‘team’, but to say the Avengers were cast incredibly well, is somewhat of an understatement. And with conversations I’ve had with both friends and family and even my children now that they’re that little bit older, it is very apparent, that everyone has a list of ‘celebrity crushes’! So I thought I would share my list with you, yes even the guilty pleasures! 

First up is someone that I have made absolutely no secret about, is Danny O’Donoghue (from The Script, if you shamefully don’t know who he is). I LOVE this man, he is beautiful to look at, he’s tall, dark and handsome, and of course he is Irish, who doesn’t like the irish accent! I’m ashamed to say that he is probably part of the reason I am still single, nobody quite meets the same standard! Next up, Jackson Rathbone, (again if you’re not sure, he played Jasper in the Twilight saga). He is very quirky, and I love quirky, he has a real southern drawl, and oh my gosh, those dimples! Yes, he is also very beautiful. Then we have Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye, The Avengers). So he isn’t as classicly beautiful like the previous two, and I cannot put my finger on what I like about him so much, but out of all of the Marvel actors, he is definitely my absolute favourite, yes, even over Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans!

Moving down the list,a little more quickfire now, we have Jason Derulo, first up he is gorgeous, and man alive can he dance, there is something very attractive about a man that can dance well! Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I think this is predominantly because he is irish, but there is also something very attractive him. Dominic Cooper, this man is gorgeous and as an added bonus, seems genuinely down to earth. Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael B Jordan, Chris Pratt, Robert Pattinson, Skylar Astin, Usher, Joshua Jackson, I mean at this point I could go on and on, but I’ll leave you with my guilty pleasure, and clearly this one is not about the looks and we all have a guilty pleasure, well mine is Adam Sandler. And on that note….

I hope you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

 

We all have them, people who inspire us. These people are quite important in our lives, I mean the clue is in the word ‘inspiring’ right? It’s quite vital to have people that get us motivated to better ourselves, to make us want to strive for more, without that, we really just sit at a stale point. So today’s post is all about the people that make me want to be a better person, the people that have got me through some of the toughest times I have faced in the past, and the people that are helping me to push for more out of life.

The first person absolutely has be my mamma. She is the most amazing and strongest person I know. She single handedly brought up myself and my brother, she worked tirelessly, more often in more than one job, to make sure that the mortgage was paid, as well as the other bills that come with owning a home, she made sure we always had good food to eat and that we always got what we wanted for our birthdays & christmas’. She made sure we knew nothing but a loving home, and that we were surrounded by loving people. All the while, she retrained and gained multiple qualifications, learned to drive and always had time to help us if we ever needed it. As we grew older, she has been by our sides through marriage breakdowns, helping us raise our children into equally amazing humans just like her! I draw so much inspiration and motivation from my beautiful mum, and she makes me aspire to be the best person I can possibly be, and her words of wisdom always hit the mark!

Another inspiration to me is Audrey Hepburn, yes the queen of famous quotes! Not only was she classicly beautiful, and wonderful actress, later on in her life, she did so much good for the world! She devoted so much of her time to UNICEF, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She really was a wonderful human being and I draw inspiration from her to be as selfless as I possibly can be. Someone else I have so much admiration for, sadly another great that is no longer with us, is Walt Disney. It’s only really in the last couple of  years, that I have discovered Walts story, and how hard he had to work to achieve his dreams. To see where he came from, and how he put all of his faith into building his vision, it is so hard not to be inspired by this brilliant man. I have some pretty awesome friends that push me to be the best version of myself, and who are so strong and loving, and send out such positive vibes, it is hard not to be inspired by them too.

The last big inspiration in my life is my four amazing, fantastic, wonderful and loving children. The all fight their own battles, some on a daily basis, and they handle it with such grace and composure, they very rarely grumble. They helped me through some of my darkest days in the aftermath of my marriage breakdown, they teach me about compassion, empathy, and my eldest especially knows nothing but giving . There have been hard times over the years, what with diagnosis’, hospital stays, family breakdowns, and through it all, they have inspired me to keep going, to fight through the day. They are the reason I try to better our lives through my ventures, to push for better opportunites, and I hope that I make them as proud of me, as I am of them!

So who inspires you through life? Is it a family member, a household name, or is it someone that is just special to you?

As always, I hope you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

 

Whilst most of the world is abiding by lockdown rules, and we’re all dreaming of days gone by, thinking about the impending summer and what we got up to last year, it’s made me think back on all my favourite memories of days out with the children. And whilst we may not get to experience many this year, my thoughts have got me excited for when the time comes and days out can be enjoyed by all again. So I thought I would share some of my most treasured days out, where we went and some of the places I would like to revisit or visit  for the first time.

Growing up, some of my most cherished memories are of coach trips with my mum and brother to various places, we did Bournemouth, Alton Towers, Weymouth, we even went all the way to Blackpool one year to see the illuminations. Although the realities as a parent can be slightly stressful on these trips, I have nothing but amazing memories filled with love, laughs and smiles, and it fills me with pure joy that mum created those times with us, which in turn has made me desperate to give this gift to my own children, granted I have never been brave enough to coach up to Blackpool with my little crew, ummm can I say ‘autism’!! Still, we have done alright with building our own little catalogue of love to look back on in years to come. Sadly only number one child (I’m thinking of renaming him the man child, on account of him not really being a child anymore), has been to Bournemouth, and that was as a baby, it is the number one place I want to visit with all of my children, as it is just the most gorgeous town. There is so much to do in Bournemouth and it has the most stunning beach, and I have fond memories of Harry Ramsdens on the prominade, followed by ice-cream, fun fact, this is where I chose to celebrate my 21st birthday!

One of my favourite excursions with the kids was definitly London! I mean I love London anyway, I could while away the whole day just wondering round just watching life pass me by, or just seeing everything that this awesome city take for granted, I just love it. But two years ago I took all four children into London for the entire day, I had previously taken the kids in on a one to one basis, but this was the first time I had taken all four of them on my own and the first time I had taken my autistic young man, so when we set off at the crack of dawn, to say I was feeling a little anxious, was an understatement! I had no reason to though, we had the best day ever, well apart from the man child having a minor meltdown about us ‘getting lost in some dodgy part’, we weren’t techically lost and we had just managed to walk to Campden, a quick Starbucks later and we casually walked back to Buckingham Palace, as you do. We had a lush picnic in Hyde Park, we went to Trafalger Square, we saw the Houses of Parliment, and much to the disgust of child number 2, a hidden Big Ben, we saw The London Eye, we walked (in part) over the moving bridge, we ate huge ice creams in the park next to the palace, and to make the day just perfect, we had glorious sunshine all day. I will forever treasure that memory, and I cannot wait to go back and investigate London some more with my little crew.

Another of my most treasured times was when we went to the Cotswold Water Park. Did I forget suncream and we all got a little blushed, to which I felt horrendous for the entire week that followed…yes, did I take a picnic which consisted of the prepackaged crap entirely bought from the shop, yes, but if you ask my children what their favourite day out as a family is, they will probably say this. The Cotwold Water Park, is in the main a small manmade beach around a couple of lakes, one of which has like an inflatable assault course on it. We literally spent the entire day there, the kids had the most amazing time playing balls games in the water, throwing each other in the water, we played frisby, ate our bodyweight in picnic food, had ice lollies and then we sleepily travelled home as the sun was setting and finished off with a fish and chip supper, it really was just so loved by us all.

Some of the other fantastic days out we’ve enjoyed together are travelling to Oxford and mooching around the museums, taking in the weird and wonderful artefacts, enjoying a picnic lunch and a trip to the ice rink. Thorpe Park was amazing too, so this was pre-Florida and the kids were still a little bit terrified of rides, but man did they love this crappy ride ‘The Fying Fish’, they went on that several times in a row, the did the bumpers, we got drenched on the log flumes, had another monster picnic, and then Maccie D’s on the way home. But some of our best days have been at the local park, annually we are lucky enough to get two festivals, a carnival and several fairs in the town we live in, all of these events hold a place in my childrens hearts. 

I am really sad that we won’t get to make ‘days out’ memories this year, but I know we will make lots of lockdown memories this summer, however I am super excited for the days that we will be able to get out and explore other parts of the country, hopefully in the not too distant future. As I said, I am desperate to get all of the kids to Bournemouth, I still want to take them to Alton towers, I really want to take them to the Harry Potter studios in London, I’d love to take them to Poole as well, there are just so many ‘potentials’, and I cannot wait to instill more life long memories that I hope my children will one day pass onto their own. Do you have any fond memories either from your childhood, or that you’ve shared with your own children?

As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much Love. xx

 

Well what a week it’s been! I don’t think I’ve seen so much confusion in a nation, well ever. I cannot help but feel sorry for Boris, he is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t. In all honesty though, if people are sinsible and they don’t make up rules to suit themselves, this doesn’t have to be confusing, frustrating for some I know, but really not that confusing, when all said and done, we are still trying to bring the numbers of cases and deaths down, which means if you don’t have to go out, don’t!

Anyway with so much uncertainty at the moment, and the summer fast approaching, I started to wonder if we will ever be able to return to the life before this pandemic hit. Now a lot of professionals (and unprofessionals) are under the opinion that we will never be able to move about as freely and live the lives we have come to enjoy. Now naively or not, I find this hard to believe that we won’t eventually see the dust settle and we will start to see normality resume. Granted until a vaccine is found, I know that we will be socially distancing for probably years, but wrongly or rightly I believe that as we are a stubborn population, people will work on finding a way to getting back to ‘normal’. I mean how gloomy does a life without days out at the beach, theme parks, no holidays sound, I know I for one will do whatever it takes to get our old ‘normal’ back, and if that means staying in my house and in lockdown for 6-12 months, then I will do it. I think this is the mentality I am struggling to understand, to the minority that continue to flout the rules, or those that have taken from Boris’ speech, only what they want to hear, do these people not realise that if we stick rules now, then life as we once knew it will come back around sooner. I have heard so many people moaning, seen so many posts on social media about wanting to go back to the freedom that we are used to, if everyone just adhered to the instructions that we’ve been given, we will be able to have that freedom sooner rather than later!

So with all that said, what is it that you’re looking forward to most when this virus is no longer holding us hostage? I am super excited about the little things, taking the kids to the cinema, sightseeing around London, coffee with friends, nipping round and seeing family and of course….holidays! I’d love to know what you’re planning on doing when it is safe to go out again?

As always, I hope you’re all safe and well. 

Much love. xx