Wobbles And Gratitude

Wobbles and gratitude seem to be my life lately. As I’m sure it has been for most people, 2020 has been one messed up year full of change, fear and confusion not to mention the usual life stresses! There has also been lots of moments where I’ve felt extremely grateful though. I thought it would be good for me to write about it and have something to look back on as a reminder that 2020 wasn’t all that bad.

Wobbles

adult alone black and white dark
Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

OK so there have been a LOT of wobbles this year. We’ve had to replace our car, washing machine, the TV died which we only use for DVDs but try having two children home for 7 months and lacking that extra distraction! On top of that we’ve had car parts to sort for our current car, the girls both decided to grow not one but two sizes.. Yup while the majority of shops were shut.

Our emersion heater for hot water has now been dead for almost a fortnight and work is due to start tomorrow after multiple call outs, being left a full day without full use of our electrics. mainly in the kitchen, and of course they didn’t turn up until way after dinner time having been called at 6am the day the emersion heater tripped all all the electrics.

Missing Friends And Family

I’ve also been wobbling over missing people, who knew you could be so antisocial yet miss people!? What the hell is that about, seriously!? We have spent every birthday having a BBQ with Martyn and Hannah, we attend one or two events with them across the year and honestly, missing these made me really wobbly, it had become a routine we all enjoyed. I know almost everyone has missed somebody this year, it’s been so hard on us all. Hopefully next year we can all see more of our friends and family.

Sheayla, although part of our bubble usually, has been really busy and my head won’t let me ask when she is free in case I add to her stress. I know its difficult with college, work and trying to flit between her mums, dads and boyfriends houses and spend time with everyone. The girls have really missed seeing her regularly and so have I but thankfully we have had a catch up at last this week.

Gratitude

thank you signage
Photo by Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com

On the note of being thankful, around all these stressful, wobbly times I have begun to notice that the people around me have made such a difference and for that I am extremely grateful for! I may not see these people day to day, month to month or even year to year but this year has shown me I do have a support network, something I felt I didn’t really have.

The Mr has been amazing through it all, how on earth he copes with me moping around growling about everything without losing it himself is beyond me. He’s taken over even more around the flat because I finally admitted to him how much more I was struggling day to day. Things like loading the dishwasher I have tried to keep doing as I feel lazy otherwise but some days I just cant cope with the pain and the knock on effect was stressing me out to breaking point, so now if I haven’t done it around the times I usually do it, he goes ahead and does it for me and I’m learning to let him and appreciate his help instead of just seeing the negative side.

Good Friends

Ken and I have two close friends who have really helped us through this year as well as others. Whether its running me to the hospital or lending us some cash to get us through whatever disaster life has decided to throw our way that day, they have been there for us.

On top of that I have a handful of close online friends such as Fiona, Lisa, Martyn and Bubble who have kept me going. I know I can rant away without judgement when I’m stressed, get it all off my chest, allowing me to calm back down and either find a solution or accept whatever rubbish has just come our way. Having friends to talk to during wobbles can make such a difference. I definitely need to harass Martyn more but stupidly tried not to knowing he was stressed, the truth is we all have stress and we all need a little bit of harassment from good friends to keep us going and remind us we are all struggling in our own ways.

Support

With our lack of hot water its been quite challenging, due to Covid there are less people working at the same time and our job needs three people hence the long wait. Throughout this Sheayla’s mum/ my Step-mum has been extremely supportive, letting us borrow her bathroom and she is fantastic with the girls. Without Heidi, I genuinely don’t think I would have coped at all these last few weeks. The last thing you want during a pandemic is to be short of hot water and the ability to keep your hands clean! Especially when sending your children to school. Sheayla has been fantastic helping me bath the girls if she’s home too which I truly appreciate, they don’t need a lot of help anymore but it still leaves me exhausted and sore through to the next day.

So overall it has been a rather rubbish year but there has been some highlights and for that I am extremely thankful! I’ve spent more time with the girls than ever, we’ve done so much at home and have lots of happy memories to look back on. Lets hope we all have a much better year next year with less wobbles and remember to keep supporting one another where we can.

Support your friends

A Rainbow, Unicorn Birthday Gift Guide

A lot of young girls dream of rainbow, unicorn birthday theme, especially 8-year-olds like Eva! Luckily there are some amazing gifts around that fit this theme. I have the privilege of showing you some fab products we were sent for this gift guide. I’ve also added in a few items we’ve picked up that are awesome too, so if you’re stuck for a gift idea for someone like Eva then check these out!

Unicorn Birthday Gifts

Always Be A Unicorn Personalised Cushion From Funky Pigeon

Funky Pigeon has been a favourite since Eva’s first birthday, we ordered her first personalised birthday card from them. They have a wide range of gifts & cards for all occasions including this adorable, personalised ‘Always be a Unicorn’ cushion. It already looks fantastic on Eva’s bed and costs just £19.99. Funky Pigeon has a great selection of unicorn gifts to choose from but this is definitely a favourite for me!

Always Be A Unicorn Personalised Cushion from Funky Pigeon

 

 

Rainbow Jewellery

Halia Rose Necklace

As most girls do, Eva loves her colourful Jewellery and this Halia Rose Rainbow Necklace Is absolutely gorgeous! This fab necklace comes in white & grey for £12.99 These necklaces are safe, 100% Non-toxic, BPA free, washable & chewable makes a great sensory toy as well as a fashion item. These gorgeous necklaces are perfect for mums of teething babies too!

Unicorn Book

 

The unicorn in a tutu

The Unicorn In a Tutu is written and illustrated by J. Y. Quinn is a fun rhyming story for £5.25. This cute story is about a Unicorn in a Tutu who helps others & gains friends. Eva loves stories like this that she can read to Izzy full of positive messages. Full of colourful illustrations and available in paperback or Kindle.

Unicorn Cake

Bakerdays Unicorn Emoji Letterbox birthday cake

A birthday isn’t a birthday without cake! Bakerdays sent us this lovely letterbox personalised Unicorn emoji cake. These fab cakes are delicious, Eva’s cake is the chocolate chip which we’ve tried before and know it’s amazing! These personalised letterbox cakes are just £14.99 and come well packaged in a special tin so they don’t break when posted. Bakerdays have a range of Unicorn Cakes to check out.

Colourful Gifts

3x3 Rubiks Cube From John Lewis

The Rubiks cube is the words number one puzzle and makes a perfect gift! Great for fidgeters & kids who love puzzles, I picked this up from John Lewis for £9.49 as Eva has asked for one, several times now. I know she will love playing with it and it will definitely keep her busy!

 

Crafty Gifts

Frenh Knitting Doll From John Lewis

Eva loves to make things, watching me crochet has led to her learning to finger knit but she is struggling to learn much more right now. Luckily I found this fab French Knitter which she can use to make a range of items. You can create all kinds of fun things like bracelets, necklaces & 3D appliques. These are simple but fun projects she can learn to do to create her own little projects or work with me on something. French Knitters are fantastic for rope bag handles, a fun project we can do together. I bought this one from John Lewis but you can also find them in most craft shops/ online stores.

 

 

Fab Lab Bath Bombs Kit From John Lewis

 

Along the same theme of making things, I found this Fab Lab Bath Bombs Kit at John Lewis too. Eva loves bath bombs & whilst she loved the ones from Sudzz at the English Festival, she also wanted to try making her own. When I spotted this cool kit I knew she would love it & it would give us a fun activity to do together. This fun little kit is just £11.99

Inspiring Gifts

She believed she could, so she did' Enamel pin

Inspiring Eva to always try and do her best isn’t always easy but this cute enamel pin from Old English Co is perfect! I can see her proudly wearing it and remembering to try her best. To help with that Old English Co also have the same quote on a gold keyring, perfect to hang from her school bag.

She believed she could, so she did gold keyring from Old English Co

Not quite the typical toy loaded gift guide but definitely one for 8-year-olds who would love a rainbow, unicorn birthday!

 

Izzy’s 3rd Birthday Weekend Celebrations

It was Izzy’s 3rd Birthday yesterday! Thanks to Martyn, Hannah & all the kids Izzy also had a lovely BBQ party. Izzy loves food so although she said she didn’t want a birthday party a BBQ was acceptable.

She loved munching away on sweet treats, sausages & burgers across the day.  I caught her looking pretty chilled out with all the kids watching TV, munching away haha!

Munch time

Hannah had some fab party supplies that the kids all loved, especially the Pinata and party bags! All the kids had fun scrabbling to get the most sweets.


We loved the pirate cake candles too & this lovely birthday cake. 😍 I totally need those for my birthday too! 😉

Birthday Cake

We had a slight accident where Izzy hit her head quite hard and ended up with a small cut. She was soon happily playing and eating again though. She even seemed slightly impressed looking at herself in the mirror! 

Proud of her war wound

Izzy loved spending the day with everyone and singing her favourite song with Martyn. ‘Beer Beer Beer – an ode to Charlie Mops’ she heard at the Rochester Dickens festival and has loved it ever since! 

Izzy & Martyn

Izzy’s 3rd Birthday

After a very long busy day and a rather late night she finally woke up after an hour of me waiting impatiently to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Snuggling up on the sofa with daddy to help her unwrap her presents she squealed excitedly as I passed each one over. 

Izzy's 3rd Birthday

Along with my Paw Patrol haul all from pound shops apart from the lookout tower I think she did fairly well! Izzy also got a cool looking scooter with tilt steering which she couldn’t wait to try out. She is slowly getting the hang of tilting it and pushing herself along.

Garnet Fairy Dress from Pretend To Bee

She received this absolutely gorgeous Garnet Fairy Set from Pretend to Bee which she couldn’t wait to put on! Complete with wings, wand & headband this gorgeous outfit is adorable & something Izzy would have picked out herself. She has barely taken it off since and wanted it on first thing this morning! I wouldn’t definitely say it is well worth £25 for this stunning fairy set, the dress is so well made and lovely and soft inside.

Garnet Fairy Dress From Pretend To Bee
Putting a spell on Mummy!

Across the day a few of our friends came by with even more presents & she was most definitely spoilt! It was most definitely all about Paw Patrol this year, she has a huge Sky & Everest balloon and lots of new characters & vehicles! Eva got a lovely soft Rainbow Dash too so she didn’t feel left out which was lovely!

We ended Izzy’s birthday with yet another birthday cake. Afterwards she happily went off to bed hugging her Skye LED Night light. I think it’s safe to say she has had a fantastic 3rd birthday!

3rd Birthday Cake

I always worry that lack of family will make special occasions a bit rubbish, most kids have aunts, uncles, cousins etc to play with so Martyn & Hannah organising a BBQ for Izzy means a lot. It meant she got to spend the day playing with other kids and having fun!

 

An Update On My Brother

I figured my readers deserved an update on my brother since a lot of them read about my worries last week when my brother ended up in A&E with a lung infection and suspected Lupus last Saturday.

Checking In

Once he was home I carried on worrying about him and checking up on him regularly. I told him off for walking to town and ordered him to wear extra layers when he had no choice but to go (WE NEED A CAR!) for electric. Luckily by the 3rd day of antibiotics he was beginning so breathe easier and walk a little further but still felt very drained.

I went to see him and check he was really Ok on Friday and was so pleased to see he was looking and sounding a bit healthier! I dragged him out for some lunch before we went on our mission.

Registering With A GP

We have been trying to register him at a GP for well over a year but each one wants his previous GP address which he honestly can’t remember. His social worker gave him the wrong address in the Summer when she signed him off so we were a little stuck. With a whole heap of other stuff going on it was something we kept forgetting to chase up again.

Having been told in A&E they suspected Alex has Lupus and he urgently needed to get a referral to a Dermatologist it was the kick up the arse we both needed to finally get it done. Alex mentioned in A&E he has been struggling to get registered with a GP so they gave him his NHS number.. at last!

So on Friday our main mission was to get him registered and we FINALLY managed it! It’s literally just across the road from him and open later than most which is perfect for him. We both walled out of that surgery high-fiving each other and cheering! At last mission successful!!

He has to call back Wednesday to ensure he’s added to the system properly. After that he will be booked in for a new patient check. Then he can book an appointment with a GP and get a referral to dermatology. It will take a few weeks but he’s literally been without a GP for years now so a few weeks aren’t too sad!

Catching Up

When we got back to Alex’s I showed him my previous post, I admitted he’s mentioned a fair bit on my blog but nothing too personal which he didn’t mind at all and the photo’s of us he absolutely loved! Especially when I explained why I chose the ones I did. He decided we needed to start taking more of us together, another little tradition to add to the list, so I thought I’d share them with you all!

Check out that smile! (How similar do we look too!? haha!)

We chatted as we usually do about our past, the present and the future. It was lovely to see he is finally feeling positive and making plans. He’s come such a long way over the last year! A lot has gone on that I haven’t mentioned because I believe that’s his personal business but I am so proud of him!

An Update

He is coping so much better, he realises now he is far from dumb although he struggles with things. He realises now it’s due to not being taught the basics. Things like how to clean, how to cash a cheque etc. have always been stressful for him. He asks for help when he needs it instead of just getting frustrated with himself now. It’s lovely to see!

The last week he’s felt very depressed but he’s dealt with it well, popping to his neighbours for a chat & inviting a few friends round. Normally he would shut himself away and end up feeling a lot worse. I’m so proud to hear he had realised he felt low and did something about it before it got worse.

Sleep Issues

Alex has always struggled with sleep and fell out of routine over the last few weeks. I gave him the Philips Alarm I was sent for #BlueMonday from PowWowNow to help him keep it up. As I explained to Alex, I have children who make sure I’m awake each day no matter how I feel. I’m sure the Alarm will benefit him much more than me! (Thank you PowWowNow)

Alex suggested writing a review of the Alarm for me which I think is a brilliant idea. It would be great for other’s to see how he gets on and what a difference it makes. Maybe it will help someone else out too! So keep an eye out for his guest post at some point over the next month or so. Since his stay in hospital he’s waking up early and has been waking before the alarm starts. So hasn’t had a chance to test it out yet. Typical 😉 haha!

All in all Alex is doing much better, his lung infection seems to have cleared up well. Thank you for all the support I’ve had from my readers. It’s been lovely to get comments checking how he’s doing and suggestions to help him.

Lung Infection & Lupus – Worrying About My Baby Brother

I’ve been worrying about my baby brother over the weekend. Most of you will know from some of my posts and tweets Alex is a big part of my life so to get a panicky call from him on Saturday and hearing him seriously struggling to breath left me worrying, A LOT. As well as struggling to breath he’s had these strange ring rashes appear which look very much like Lupus.

Alex had tried and struggled to go to his nearest shop and rung me worried, he didn’t want to walk to the hospital ‘in case it was a waste of time’. He suggested waiting until the morning..  So I put my Mummy voice on and insisted at the very least he call 111 for some advice.

Panicking

As soon as I put my phone down I began to panic, Alex doesn’t have the greatest immune system and has weak lungs from being born prematurely, he also suffers from Asthma. Temperatures were below 0 and I was worried he would get worse but luckily he did what he was told and called 111. An ambulance was sent out to him and the paramedics decided he needed to go to hospital. His heart rate and irregular breathing was concerning them so they insisted he was wheeled to the ambulance instead of walking which he wasn’t too impressed with.

He text me to let me know he was waiting for the ambulance then understandably I didn’t hear from him for over an hour. I spent the entire time unable to concentrate on anything, constantly checking my phone for an update. Eventually Alex let me know he had bloods taken and had ‘things put all over his chest’ (ECG) and he was scared. I tried to distract him whilst he waited, chatting about a documentary I was watching on the London Graveyard’s by London Liverpool Street Station.

After some rambling back and forth he eventually got his results. It turned out Alex has a lung infection and suspected Lupus. He called me as he walked home, struggling to breathe. Hearing him so vulnerable, crying from the pain, being so scared alone was horrible, I just wanted to be there and give him a hug. He was given antibiotics for the lung infection and his NHS number (At last!!!!) so he can finally register with a GP and get a referral to a dermatologist to confirm the suspected lupus.

The two major symptoms are joint and muscle pain and an extreme tiredness that won’t go away no matter how much you rest.

Rashes, depression, anaemia, feverishness, headaches, possible hair loss and mouth ulcers may all be part of the pattern of lupus.

Noticeably, whilst the two major symptoms are invariably present, people with lupus can differ greatly in their symptoms and how the illness can affect them – life-threatening for a few, very mild for some.

We are all extremely worried about his health, he has had all the symptoms that point to lupus for a while now. This worried me just as much as the lung infection. He is my baby brother and I hate that I couldn’t be there with him. Not having a car is becoming more and more stressful, things like this happen and I’m left helplessly worrying instead of being there to look after him. I’ve always tried to look out for my baby brother, I remember holding his tiny little hand through the incubator for the first time. He was so tiny and fragile and spent a long time in NICU so when he finally came home I couldn’t leave him alone.

I fed him & changed him as a baby, I taught him his first words, how to read and write. He learnt his first colours from a song I made up with a row of coloured teddies over his bouncer. Red teddy, yellow teddy, green teddy, blue! He may be my baby brother but I guess in a way he’s always been my baby too which is why I’m so protective of him. To me he’s just like the girls, he’s a huge part of my world and I always feel the need to care for him so times like this are extremely tough.

Brother & Sister forever

Alex and I had an unusual childhood, he was in care from 7/8 years old but this has never stopped us having a strong relationship. We have only lost contact once for a few months when I left home and went into a women’s refuge, I didn’t have any contact details for him but eventually we sorted it and contact resumed. When I had Eva he had been sectioned and was in hospital after several suicide attempts. I knew I had to jump in some how and bring some normality back to his life so I arranged home visits, had visits from Social services etc. to ensure our flat was safe for him.

Since then we have kept in regular contact and gone through a lot together, I know he almost see’s me as a mum to him too and with him not talking to ‘her’ right now means I am pretty much all he has, knowing that and not being there was so difficult. We were brought up to avoid Dr’s and Hospital’s, terrified that anything and everything would end in needles.. no wonder I had a needle phobia! Knowing he was sat in the same A&E room where he sat as a child being told off for having a broken leg worried me, he’s also overdosed several times and ended up there too. He suffers from PTSD and I was terrified this would set him off but distracting him did seem to help.

Going forward

I’m hoping the antibiotics help and his lung infection goes away. I’ll be focusing on getting over to him as much as I possibly can over the next few weeks to help get him registered at a GP. We also need to get his referral for a dermatologist to find out if he does have Lupus and what we can do to keep him as healthy as possible. Lupus is extremely complicated and Alex is understandably terrified as he has no clue what’s going on. He’s had so many of the symptoms that it really is worrying but I intend to look after my baby brother as much as possible!

Have you ever been in a similar situation? Do you know anything about Lupus that may help? Please do leave a comment if you have any experience with Lupus.

Back To Normality After Christmas

After a hectic few week’s thing’s are finally getting back to normality after Christmas. I’ve been much quieter than planned on the blog so thought I’d write a quick catch up post. We had a brilliant one this year and were on top of the girl’s presents thanks to starting early and picking up a few bargains along the way.

The lead up

 

The lead up to Christmas was very busy especially with the Mr painting characters on the walls for the girls including Olaf (don’t mention the body 😉) , Gingerbread man  and an elf! The girls absolutely loved them and I personally don’t want the gingerbread man to go!

 


There was plenty of last minute buying and panicking about the Mr’s present which luckily a very good friend (you know who you are!) helped me out with. So the Mr at least had a few beers to go along with a top I bought him instead of nothing.. good job really since he got me a Microsoft Surface 3!!!! Admittedly I still feel guilty & going to order him another box of beers for him next payday from Beer52, as I said I would for Christmas but ran out of time!

Santa visit

We visited Santa with Alex (my brother) on Christmas eve again this year. Carrying on the tradition we started last year. Although I forgot to pre-book so we had almost a 2 hour wait it wasn’t too bad. We chatted inline with a mum and her son Oscar after we watched him so she could grab McDonald’s for them to eat whilst they waited. They helped keep the girls chatting to stop the boredom. We also took pictures with the big bears that came round to entertain those queueing. The girls and Alex also ended up with a HUGE stash of candy canes as they all had to go and Izzy was being cheeky and cute haha!

Christmas Morning

 

Christmas morning we had a 30 min wait for my brother to arrive. Well once the girls were eventually awake the Mr and I were up rather early so it wasn’t too bad! The girls couldn’t wait to see their Uncle Alex and make sure he joined in. They all opened their stockings then took a quick break to eat some more chocolate before moving onto bigger presents. They were all over the moon with their gifts which was lovely to see. My jaw was on the floor though when I realised my blogging life was about to become a whole lot easier. Thanks to the Mr buying me a Microsoft surface pro 3! 

Normality after Christmas

We had a delicious Christmas Dinner cooked by the Mr with all the usual yummy stuff! We all ended up in a food coma and wanting bed quite soon after! My brother spent most of the day saying how happy he was and how the day had given him a sense of normality and family life. It was brilliant spending the day with him and spoiling him along with the girls. He joined us again to see in the New Year and again couldn’t stop saying how happy he was. It’s really hit him how well he has done over the last year. He’s turned his life around with a little bit of help and knowing he does have family who really do love & care about him.

Coming to an end

So all in all it’s been a fabulous time but as always very tiring with all the running around & cleaning. As the holidays came to an end Izzy was quite ill and had a few sofa days. Eva began to misbehave quite a bit over the last few days which has made me feel quite low. Luckily she is back to school today and normality has returned.. fingers crossed so does her good behaviour!

How was your Christmas? Are you relieved to get back to routine or wishing it was Christmas every day?

Spreading The Joy Of Reading This Christmas

I have always loved to read and reading was my favourite thing to do as a child so I love the idea of spreading the joy of reading this Christmas by giving 3 amazing Penguin Random House Children’s Books (teamed up with Britmums) I received to Izzy as Christmas presents.

Izzy is really enjoying reading books with all of us and as we did with Eva, we intend to encourage her love of reading. We sometimes go to baby rhyme time at the local library and always come back with a stack of books which we read over and over at home. The girls have an ever growing book shelf too & these books will make a lovely addition!

Max & Bird

Max & bird looks like quite a funny book about a kitty who wants to be friends with Bird. He also wants to chase and him as a tasty snack . But that’s not what friendship is all about… is it? I can’t wait to read this to Izzy, I know she will love the illustrations as she loves cats!

 

The Little Elephant Who Wants To Fall Asleep

 

The Little Elephant who want to fall asleep is a the latest book from the author of The Rabbit who wants to fall asleep which is a global best seller! It’s aimed at helping children fall asleep.  Following Ellen the elephant on a journey through a magical forest that leads to sleep! This sounds like a brilliant book and I’ll definitely be trying it out on those nights the girls just can’t sleep.

 

The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas

 

I can’t wait to read the dinosaur that pooped Christmas! We’ve read the dinosaur that pooped the world which the girls absolutely loved. This time Danny’s new dinosaur eats Christmas!! I wonder what happens next!?

 

 

They all sound like brilliant books, I can’t wait to read them to Izzy!

I loved books growing up and The Secret Garden was always my favourite as a young child! I have saved a copy for the girls to read. Hopefully one day it becomes a favourite for them, getting lost in the beautiful secret garden and storyline.

What was your favourite book as a child? Do you read it or plan to read it to your child/ren?

Are you giving books as gifts this year? Which ones?

*I’ve been sent these books by Britmums and Penguin Random House as part of their children’s books Christmas present challenge.

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit!

We’ve started getting into the Christmas spirit already which you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram!Christmas spirit

 

We’ve been counting down the days until Christmas and doing lots of planning and making! The girls have made a few Christmas cards & pictures & Eva made an rather long paper chain!

Out and about

 

On Friday we popped into town for the Christmas Light show.The girls got a ride on the little Trains, ate hot doughnuts, made elf badges & collected their hoof bell which was part of ‘Come as yourself leave as an Elf’. It was fairly busy and the girls were quite tired so we didn’t do them all but the girls really enjoyed themselves. 

 

Eva was particularly happy to have Anna & Elsa head straight for her to have a good 5 minute chat! Belle tried to join in too bit seemed a little upset as Eva pretty much ignored her.. Although in all fairness Anna was rather talkative haha!

We didn’t stay to watch the lights being turned on as it was freezing & the girls wanted to go home for dinner. But we did return the next day so the girls could get a picture with the tree!

Every day we have been adding doing something Christmassy (yes that is a word as is Christmassing 😉). The Mr has been repainting the living room for Christmas.. based on an an idea Eva had. He has gone slightly crazy and come up with a brilliant/crazy idea! I can’t wait to share with you all so look out for my next Christmassy post!

The girls bedroom is slowly getting there too with their Christmas tree up, tinsel on their chest of drawers & the ‘Santa please stop here’ sign the girls made!


Are you getting into the Christmas spirit yet? Have you been making or buying anything special?

Family Dinners

To most people sit down family dinners is the norm. To my brother & I it’s something quite new, awkward, yet exciting.

Growing up it was rarely done, don’t get me wrong we did sit down occasionally, even at a table but it never felt like a family meal.. You know where you all sit chatting pleasantly, passing things around to each other, laughing and joking. Instead it was generally quite stressful and awkward.

My brother had a few more sit down meals than me growing up, whilst in children’s homes he says it was fun chatting to the other kids but not the same as a family dinner, in foster homes it was awkward sitting with a family he barely knew so he wasn’t keen on them and like me struggled with eating in other peoples homes in general.

So of course we HAVE to change that and with the Mr always happy to play chef we worked out the Sunday between our pay day and Alex’s pay day was the perfect day to turn into our family day. We started the weekend before last with a lovely beef roast as my brother hadn’t had a proper roast in over 5 YEARS! I know right, how disgusting is that!? Well that was quickly changed and we had an absolutely amazing day!

My favourite – Uncle Alex reading Jungle Jam to his Nieces 😍💜

With Alex around to keep the girls occupied it was much easier for the Mr and I to get on with bits in the kitchen & having a quick tidy up so it was also lovely for us that it was less stressful. We all worked together getting everything ready to sit down as we have no dinner table so instead we use the girls small tables & Alex decided he was more comfortable eating at the Mr’s desk.

Normally Alex is as awkward as I was a few years ago when it comes to eating around others but this time he was really relaxed, stopping every now & then to have a chat and it was just a lovely day & meal all round. My brother was really grateful which was lovely but sad at the same time.. I felt guilty thinking how many of his favourite meals he hasn’t had since I last cooked them when he was around 6/7. 

After chatting to Alex this Thursday and finding out how much our family dinner day had meant to him and how comfortable he really felt, I couldn’t wait for today! Hearing how it gave him a sense of normality & being part of a family rather than an outsider looking in honestly nearly had me in tears, I had to keep tidying to hide them.

Family Dinners

I’m calling him at 10.30am to make sure he’s awake and then once he’s ready the girls are going to come with me to meet him at the bus station. We are having Chicken Tikka Masala tonight and will be working through all his favourites letting Alex pick what he wants each time. It’s definitely something we will be continuing so I need to really get a wiggle on finding a decent table with 5/6 chairs so we can really do it properly!

Do you have sit down family meals? Is it something you all enjoy? Who decides what your eating? Also.. Any budget table and chair recommendations?