Happy days: Out and about

We’ve had a quiet few weeks in our household, largely due to Lottie and I having a stinking cold and not wanting to share our germs with anyone, but also because, well, with everything that we’ve had going on recently, I think I had become a bit lazy with getting out and doing anything.

I got on a bit of a downer last Sunday as I think I was a bit fed up of doing nothing, day in, day out, but also of never having any time for myself (I can see all other mums nodding along!). So instead of getting upset, I got positive and found lots of things for me and Lottie to get out and do, booked my hair to be cut and coloured (DISASTER, but hey ho) and booked my nails to be done (tomorrow – can’t wait.)

Family Saturday – Mr M and I recently discovered a gorgeous Italian deli in a nearby town called Giambrone’s (if you’re near Hertford, definitely check it out). It does delicious food, divine brownies, is family friendly and Lottie absolutely loves it as there’s so much going on, that she is kept entertained constantly. Which in turn means that we can eat in peace. Bliss.

Feeling better – Mine and Lottie’s colds have finally cleared up, having been snotty monsters for nearly two weeks, we seem to have turned the corner and are both feeling much better.

Which means family visits – Being better meant that we have been able to go back to see my mum and dad. My dad’s blood counts have been pretty low recently due to the treatment he is having, so we have had to stay away with our germs in fear of making him really poorly with something he couldn’t fight off. It’s horrible not being able to visit as they have both been really very ill of late and I’ve felt absolutely useless not being able to pop in or help with anything, so it’s lovely to go back and Lottie has been cheering them up no end. And we also saw my sister and her daughter yesterday, which was lovely.

Zumbini and Toddler Tales – In a bid to get out of the house every day, I’ve managed to find two new afternoon classes for Lottie, which we started this week. Zumbini is like baby Zumba with lots of dancing, singing and instruments. Lottie can be a little shy in new situations, so she was a bit unsure, but I think once she gets used to it, she’ll love it.

Toddler Tales is run at local libraries and is half an hour of singing and stories. Our session was fairly quiet, which meant Lottie had lots more confidence and she really enjoyed it. I also signed us up for the library as I really want to try and nurture her love of books as she grows up. The fact that the first book I hastily grabbed (as the place was filling up with a nursery group), was, I later discovered, all about blowing off, was a minor blip in my otherwise worthy activity! I hope….

Baby shopping spree – Lottie is now in 12-18 month clothes and the ones we have been handed down were all rather wintry. What better reason for a shopping spree! We got some seriously cute bits in H&M and I may have spent slightly too much money in there. Oops.

Lovely afternoon out with my mum – My dad was in hospital for treatment all day on Thursday. My mum has recently had her driving licence taken away due to health reasons, so we went to pick her up from the swimming pool and took her out for the afternoon to a local massive M&S. As soon as Lottie saw nana getting out of the car, her eyes lit up and she and I had a delightful afternoon with mum. So we managed to turn a rubbish day for her into a slightly less rubbish one, and had a lovely time ourselves in the process. Win win.

And I think organising more fun stuff this week has definitely cheered us up…