3 Good Things - Day 3 - 21.02.15

Today was a really rare treat - my brother, his wife and their daughter came to my mum and dads house for a visit before J and I left to go home after our half term stay with mum and dad.

We don't get to see them that often - the journey from my house to their house takes me around 2.5 hrs if I go door to door. If I stop on the way and collect my parents, then it takes around 3 hrs. Usually J is so excited about seeing them, because we don't often see them, that by the time we get there he's bursting with excitement, which usually results in some kind of explosion or meltdown at some point during our visit with them. This tends to put a bit of a mood on things, generally speaking. We can never stay too long, as I have to be careful not to let it get too late - J needs to have his dinner and be going to bed relatively promptly otherwise he really goes downhill fast. He's a child of habit, and if I break his routine he does get quite stroppy about it.

My niece, R, hasn't visited mum and dads house since my mums birthday last May, when R was just 2 months old (so she doesn't remember it!) She was thrilled to discover that there was a cat in residence - and more to the point, the cat was willing to remain where he was and allow her to pet him. She waved her hands, wriggled her toes, smiled and cooed in pleasure as she sat on her daddy's lap and fussed the cat.

I sat snapping photos and out of them I really liked this one. The cat looks so completely chilled in the background it's hard to believe the same animal was running away from J at the same age R is now because he was so unsure! Just goes to show how things can change if an animal has fair opportunity to get used to the idea.

#3GoodThings

* Lunch with family *
* Saw my gorgeous niece *
* Good drive back home *

Lunch was lovely - mum cooked sausage rolls and chicken bites, we had crisps and crackers and lots of nibbles, and my sister in law E made chocolate brownies (absolutely lush chocolate brownies, I must say!) I saw my gorgeous niece, and as she approaches her 1st birthday she has changed so much since New Years Day when I last saw her, but every time I see her I think she gets more beautiful. She was so very good fussing the cat, as well, being very lovely and gentle as her daddy directed her. It's a long drive from mums house back to my house (just over 100 miles) but we left shortly after 4pm and arrived around 6.30pm - slight delays, as always, on the M25 at Dartford and a couple of patches where there was no apparent reason for everyone acting like a donut but they all were - so it delayed us slightly, but on the whole it was a good straightforward drive. 

My good things continued yesterday - I got home to find Daddy P had done the housework, and he'd visited the fish and chip shop in anticipation of our arrival and brought home dinner! He then put J to bed so I could put my feet up after my long drive, and we watched episodes of House while I worked. It was a lovely calm, cosy evening and just what I needed last night.

Peace N Love

Mummy P xxx

3 Good Things - Day 2 - 20.02.15

My photo for today is J with a pirate mask and cutlass. He's pirate mad, loves the Lego game Pirates of the Caribbean and the films, and when he went on a day trip with my mum to a farm local to her house and in the gift shop they had pirate masks and cutlasses for sale, of course that's what J wanted.

#3GoodThings

- Got lots of work done
- Yummy dinner
- Nice cuddles & bedtime stories

As mum took J out for the day I was left to my own devices and managed to get loads of work done, uninterrupted. Dinner was really simple - I chucked a pizza in the oven but it was really good! Then J and I had nice cuddles and bedtime stories before he went to sleep. I feel lucky when bedtime goes well a few times in a week as when it goes nicely it's a lovely little bit of time to spend with him.

Love N Hugs

Mummy P xxx

Three Good Things - Positive Focus

As a bit of a social media freak, I view a lot of social media content. Some I use more often than others, but for all of them even if I don’t enjoy adding my own stuff I enjoy looking at others, and sometimes they’ll create a spark of an idea for me.

One lady whose pages I love is Karin Joyce, who throws herself into life with such enthusiasm and gusto that I think of her whenever I need some oomph to get done what I have to get done. A while ago, I did a photo challenge set by Karin, which was embracing her hash tag #3GoodThings and at the end of each day selecting my favourite photograph from the day, and noting three good things that I’d experienced. The idea was simple – it could be a small good thing, like finishing a cup of tea while it was still hot, or a bigger good thing, like having a great day out somewhere, or an accomplishment of some kind. Focussing on three good things in a day for the length of time I did the challenge – half term last year – really helped me focus my mind on the positive, and so I felt better in myself than I had done in a long time.

I’ve had a lot going on recently and in amongst it all somewhere I’ve started to stumble again, despite the good things happening in my life right now my brain seems wired to dwell on the bad, so I’m going to follow Karin’s current photo challenge - #3GoodThings for 40days. A lot can happen in 40 days, so I’m hoping to be able to achieve the entire length of the challenge and re-wire my brain into thinking positive again and finding that happy medium between euphoria and devastation.

So, Karin, if you’re reading this, thank you for the inspiration!

And to everyone else, why not give it a go? Instagram your images with the hashtag #3GoodThings to participate too.

~ My 3 Good Things Photo for today is a photo of my parents cat. He spent most of this afternoon asleep on this chair as it was raining, and he doesn't like being outside in the rain. I love how chilled and lazy he looks. Ah, the life of a cat! ~

~ 1 ~ Got some work done. OK, it wasn't as much as I'd have liked, but still, I got some work done.

~ 2 ~ Nice chat with my aunt Z and cousin J. Shame I won't get to catch up with them on this visit, but there'll be the Easter holidays before we know it!
~ 3 ~ Lovely bedtime stories and cuddles with J. I read that many people don't read their kids bedtime stories and I was saddened. I love bedtimes, its my time to devote to J and for bath, stories, chats and lots of cuddles and kisses. To this day when he falls asleep playing with my hair it makes my heart melt just like it did the first time. That time is so precious, he won't be this young again, so I treasure it dearly.

Late night peace & love,

Mummy P xxx