Well, I’m not really sure where to start. It’s been a little while and a lot has happened since I signed off at the end of last year, I can’t quite believe we are halfway through March. I’ve been meaning to sit down and do a post for a few weeks but each time I never really know how to start- it’s almost like I’ve forgotten how to write so apologies in advance if this is a bit of a rambley post to get back into the swing of blogging.

The biggest change for us has been my little job change. At the end of last year I realised I was ready for a bit of a change and applied for a job that I never thought I’d get (with a little push from a couple of people who had more faith in my abilities than I did!) and at the start of January I started an 8 week training programme that was incredibly intense and swallowed me up a bit. I’ve now come out the other side and am slowly getting used to a very different job role, working different shifts at any time of the day or night and I’m really appreciating that it was definitely the right decision to make. This change has meant that Henry has had to pick up the household role a lot more as we adjust to a new way of doing things. He’s been amazing and has really enjoyed the chance to go back to toddler groups after a long gap thanks to covid lockdowns. He’s also got a pretty good tea making intuition that means I usually walk in the door to a ready to drink cup of tea which is quite a blessing after an intense 12 hour shift. On a side note I will forever be grateful to him for helping this change come about, for encouraging me through every moment of the training, for believing in me and for the little things like hiding creme eggs in the kitchen for me when I come home.

The other one in the house who’s had a big change is Seb. Sadly at the end of last year we got the news that his lovely little nursery was closing down. Polly loved going there and Seb was getting on so well that this was a real blow- the team there were so friendly we definitely shed a few tears. The good news is we managed to get him a place at the nursery attached to Polly’s school and a few of his friends also made the transition so he handled the whole thing like an absolute trooper. I still have to pinch myself at the realisation that my wee man starts school in a few months time, he seems to have grown up so much the last few weeks and he is so excited to go, I’m just not sure I’m ready to say that 2 out of my 3 rascals are school age, especially when he crawls up next to you on the sofa and declares- “I huggle of you” with a big cuddle.

As for the big girl, well, she’s just Polly. The child is an absolute Queen in the making and makes me laugh out loud and want to pull my hair out every day! With recent quotes like- “I don’t need to go to school today because I already know everything.” Her reading has come on leaps and bounds and she is forever finding things to read and also has a thing about setting herself maths homework- she will even pull up chairs for her siblings and instruct them to call her ‘Miss Flower’ before teaching them various things she has learnt at school, after doing that all important register where she gives everyone a new name. She also has moments where she absolutely melts my heart though. After giving her a very child friendly brief on the situation in Ukraine at the moment her instant reaction to seeing the thousands of people fleeing their homes- “well they could just come here and we would be their friends.”

And then there’s the baby- who is actually the biggest rascal of the whole house. Our little koala bear is an absolute hoot. Whether she’s in the kitchen pulling out 6 plates, 4 bowls, 7 cups and enough cutlery to feed a rugby team every time you go in there to make a meal. Whether she’s dancing around, wagging her finger saying ‘no no no’ whilst getting our almost daily fix of Encanto- ‘we don’t talk about Bruno’ being her absolute favourite tune of course! Or whether she is stealing everyone else’s food before settling down to eat her own. Or when you find her sitting on the dining room table colouring in the table mats with the pens she’s managed to find. She is the cheekiest of all cheeky rascals and gets more entertaining.

The job change has also forced me back into the driving seat. After going very weird about driving since having the kids and using every excuse known to man to not drive the car- taking a job that is not in the town has meant I have had to push myself back into driving and I’m slowly getting my confidence back. Don’t get me wrong I’m avoiding small roads like the plague and have been known to leave the car outside with flashing hazard lights on as my frazzled brain can’t park this giant car of ours very well so Henry gets the keys chucked his direction occasionally. But it is slowly getting better.

So, now I’ve finally produced another blog and seem to be getting into the swing of the new set up I should be back more regularly- I’m not promising it though as I think I said that at the end of every post I wrote last year! But here’s hoping!