I think I’m still in denial that May and half-term are actually over, more than a week down the line I still pining over our sunny days spent mostly outside, not worrying about school, work and stressing over bedtime. Watching the video back that I’ve made, the boys just look like they spent May running […]
These last two weeks my Facebook and Instagram have been full of holiday photos, New York, Disney, France, Ibiza, Cornwall, Devon. It feels like everyone has been away but us. Having said that we had a fantastic week at home with some gorgeous weather, it felt like a mini summer.
I love our garden especially in summer but it takes so much to keep up with all the maintenance. With busy family life I find it hard to keep on top of all the housework never mind keeping the garden tidy too. Our back garden is quite big and on four levels because we live on a hill and the front garden has a large planted area too. The old man that lived here before us was an avid gardener and put a lot of work into making the garden a wonderful place but he was retired and lived alone. There were a few years when I did the bear minimum as with the boys being so little and needing all my attention and then a couple of years when I spent all my free time studying, there was no time for me to do more than cut the grass and do a bit of weeding.
I’m really passionate about home cooking and making nutritious meals from scratch but being a super busy working Mum, I’m also a massive fan of a shortcut if it’s done with good quality ingredients and no artificial stuff. I want to know where things come from and I want my boys to learn about good food. I want them to be enthusiastic about food and learn that real cooking doesn’t have to take all day and that anyone can do it. You may know by now that I love comfort food and I think spaghetti and meatballs along with lasagna are Italy’s ultimate comfort foods. This recipe is a family favourite that I have reinvented using Spice N Tice’s Italian Meatball Marinara Seasoning Kit.
May has been so busy. I must say it every month but this month really has flown by. We were all so ready for a bit of a break. We have had trouble getting the boys to bed in the evening which has lead to them being grumpy and tired in the mornings. It all came to a head last week with me feeling tired, emotional, hormonal and stressed and I started with a migraine which then lasted six days. I’m glad to say that over the last few days I have felt much better, more relaxed and less anxious. Thank goodness for half-term and a week off work. We have enjoyed some fantastic weather this month so we have tried to make the most of it as this might be our summer and June, July and August could be terrible!
Yesterday I missed something, an event in Ethan’s school life that I should have been there for. He received two certificates at premier assembly and I wasn’t there to see him standing up in front of everyone. I didn’t see his face, searching for me in the crowd and smiling and me smiling back so proud. I know there’ll be others and he’ll soon forget it but it really upset me. I was over emotional after a long week where I hadn’t felt well and was ready for a break, but there was something else behind that guilt. It was a guilt that has been there for six and a half years.
Natural glam seems to be this year’s theme, and we were never more excited than we are now. Individuality and self-expression are finally taking priority in the beauty world, and all of the trends are aimed at enhancing our features and making us feel confident in our own skin. Rather than heavy contouring, it’s all about taking care of your skin, hair, and celebrating unique beauty. Want to check out this season’s coolest trends? Then take a look and pick your favourites.
Whilst totally loving the brighter evenings, it’s really giving me a headache at the moment because the boys just won’t settle down in the evening until the sun starts to go down. They are driving us crazy and it’s exhausting trying to get them to go to sleep before nine o’clock. Going to bed later means that they’re tired in the morning, grumpy, have difficulty concentrating and listening when asked to do something, like get ready for school, eat breakfast etc! It also means that Matteo and I hardly get any time to wind down after all the jobs are done in the house before it’s time for bed for us.
When you’ve been learning and speaking a language for a long time there are certain words and phrases that stick out and embed themselves in your everyday life. Italian is such a beautiful language, it just sounds so lovely and flows off the tongue so well, two of the reasons I wanted to learn it. For this blog post I’ve picked five Italian words/phrases that stand out for me.
April was a bit of a strange month as it felt like it was split into two halves. We had the Easter holiday and lots of rest for the first two weeks and then back to the crazy school routine for the other two. It has been great this month to have more light and I have felt like I have had more energy. With the boys being away I got to rest a lot but I also got lots done like painting our bedroom and the doors and door frames upstairs. I also got the house properly clean for the first time in a long time.