Reasons to be Cheerful – Quality Time with the Neices

Ugh. Mondays. Nothing has the power to diminish your post-weekend buzz quite like a Monday. And today was a particularly irritating Monday. It was going to take some seriously cheerful memories to blot this one out, so this evening I’ve been casting my mind back to last weekend to keep the grumps at bay.

Last weekend I took the new boy down South to stay with my Brother and Sister-in-law in Surrey, along with my Sister and her boyfriend. We didn’t really make any plans – we just wanted to spend a relaxing weekend catching up, drinking wine, eating good food, and of course spending some quality time with those darling nieces of mine.

Oh they do cheer me up, those little cherubs. Even when they’re being monsters – like when Josie invited herself into the bathroom while I was having a shower then informed me I should probably leave now because she was going to do a stinky poo. Or the time she called me back 10 minutes later and told me I could wipe her bottom if I wanted. Or when she told me she has crumply bits but Daddy had a willy and two bits to hold it on, otherwise it might fall off and he’d be a girl. Delightful child. And Keira can be just as bad – when her Mum leaned in for a kiss on her way out she declared ‘Mummy, there is such a thing as too much perfume you know….’ I’ll admit I had to stifle a giggle at that one. Who knew 7 year olds could be so adept at sarcasm?

Anyway, gross over-sharing and early onset sarcasm aside, they don’t half do a good job of keeping my mind off all things grim and work related. To be honest, it’s pretty hard to focus on grown up things when you’re busy doing kid stuff, and boy, those girls had a busy schedule set out for us from the moment we arrived. First up, the boy had to be shown every corner of the house, complete with running commentary on particularly amusing things that had happened there, like how the cupboards in the study are magic and when you go in there you might come out as something else like a rabbit or a chicken (well, in fairness, it’s a good idea to warn people about that kind of thing I suppose….) or that time Mummy freaked out because she discovered a giant swarm of ladybugs living in the window of the guest room, yes, the very one you’re going to sleep in. Then, while having ‘grown up talk’ over tea in the kitchen, they thought they’d make sure we weren’t bored by bringing us all of their best new toys, one by one. We’d built quite a collection by bed time. Then of course there was the Q&A session with the Magic 8 ball, which consisted largely of asking it the same question over and over till it came up with the answer Keira was looking for. The next day was a blur of Horrid Henry, trampolining, hanging out in Daddy’s ‘man cave’ (much to Daddy’s dismay), watching Inside Out on the big screen (which, FYI, I was NOT ready for. I won’t say what happened in case you haven’t seen it – and you really do need to see it – but all I’m gonna say is ‘Bing Bong’. Sob!) and best of all, DANCE STAR PARTY which, by the way, is totally going to become my new exercise regime. So much more fun than running… You’d think all of that would have tired us all out, but no, Sunday brought with it more fun, like scooter rides, adventures to the pub for lunch, volleyball with ENORMOUS inflatable balls and running through the sprinklers with umbrellas (I sat that one out, I’m not gonna lie).

So, it wasn’t exactly what you could call ‘relaxing’ I guess, but one thing is for sure, I did not have a moment free to think about how behind I am at work, or the fact I have to man up and book some driving lessons soon, or try to mentally calculate how many more years I’d have to live at home with my parents if I wanted to buy the kind of house I always thought I’d end up living in. By the time the weekend came to an end I was exhausted, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing, and I can’t wait till next time!

Love,