Reasons to be Cheerful - Week 13

So, Reasons to be Cheerful this week. A bit of an 'up and down' week. Late to school, awake half the night for no apparent reason. But looking forward to the holidays. So I'm cheery this week because:

• The unseasonal fantastic weather this week. I know it's not original or clever, but it is amazing just how much the good weather lifts your mood. Even though we all know it's going to go back to 'normal' March/April weather soon enough!
• Two weeks break from the school routine come tomorrow. B is definitely in need of a break now, he's been a bit grumpy the past week or so, tired, so the holidays can't come soon enough. 
• I'm going on a kind of 'spiritual' Away Day on Saturday in London. Not quite sure what to expect, but looking forward to finding out! I'm sure to post about it next week.
• Also B and I have a few days away during the holidays, just the two of us. I am in need of a change of scene so am looking forward to it. Hoping the weather doesn't turn too nasty in the meantime!
• My volunteering role I've been doing for the past 10 months finished this week. A strange reason to be cheerful, yes, and it is bittersweet. But I know it was the right decision to make and I now feel freed up to look for more paid work or to explore other options.

What are your reasons to be cheerful this week?

Silent Sunday - Through the Round Window

 

Bloomin' Marvellous

I'm not usually one for endless photos of flowers, partly because I don't really know much about them past daffodils and tulips, and partly because I don't have a fancy camera to get some really good close-ups.

But as I was strolling round the park this morning with a friend, in the beautiful spring sunshine, I couldn't help but be impressed - brightened, even - by the flowers already in bloom.

                                                     Let's look through the round window... 

 

 Sunshine and flowers, the perfect combination for a good mood day!

The Gallery - colour

Initially I couldn't find a photo that really jumped out at me to include in this week's The Gallery theme of colour.

And then I went for a stroll and a cuppa with a friend this morning in the Botanic Gardens, and was faced with the perfect photo opportunity!

From a distance it looks like the tree has been painted, but closer up, it has been wrapped in swathes of pink material

It's an odd but strangely uplifting sight to see, even more so when we read that it's bee done to raise awareness of the Moonwalk, taking place in Edinburgh on 9th June for WalktheWalk, uniting against breast cancer.

Silent Sunday

 

My Small Stuff

Inspired by Letters from your Mum, who was in turn herself inspired by Is there a Plan B?, I've been thinking of my Small Stuff, the stuff that's not supposed to be important, but in reality it's the stuff that matters the most.

Is there a Plan B? quotes from Bob Crampton from The Guardian:

The small stuff, ..., that you think is the small stuff,  

and then you get older and realise that the small stuff is what actually matters. 

So here's just a small selection of mine:

A good mood day, i.e. a cold clear day with warm sunshine.

B doing his repertoire of funny faces. B watching himself in the mirror doing his repertoire of funny faces. B doing a really good impersonation of his little friend's Yorkshire accent and not realising he's doing it. B's delight every morning at seeing his friends in the school playground, as if he's not seen them for ages, but it's been less than 24 hours. 

news.discovery.com

A double or triple rainbow, but I'll take a single one too. The orange night sky just before it snows. The silence of falling snow.

Suddenly noticing the vastness of a clear sky at night. Picking out all the stars, but not knowing any of the constellations. Using my new star-map app to spot in which direction the planets lie. Pointing out Venus and Jupiter to B and competing to see who is the most excited and in awe of being able to see actual planets!

The first trip of the year to the beach, usually when it's not quite warm enough to take your coat off. But sandcastles still get built and ice-creams still get licked. Then every trip to the beach after. Going for a walk along the sea-shore, shoes and socks off, having forgotten the feeling of the sinking sand and cold sea on your bare feet. Clambering up a big bank of sand, then running back down again.

Cuddles from B.

The words 'heebie-jeebies' and 'nincumpoop' (no, I didn't just make them up now).

Viggo Mortensen. Hugh Jackman. Not in any particular order.

Drinking sparkling wine from proper champagne flutes.

Waking up thinking it must be time to get up and the clock reassures me I've got another hour of snooze-time. Waking up to B's padding feet and a 'Good mornin' cheeky little face right next to mine. Getting that same wake up call when it's later than 7am (that one is a rarity, sadly. But one day...)

Being complimented by friends.

Watching B do a rolie-polie down a grassy bank.

Ticking off jobs on my to-do list. Writing nice tasks in my to-do list like 'book holiday' or 'arrange lunch with ... friend'.

Image Credit: tomstuart.org

Clambering on climbing frames with B. Still being able to clamber on climbing frames.

Playing Hide and Seek. Playing B's version of Hide and Seek where he tells me where he's going to hide. Or when he hides in the same place I've just hidden. His face when he finds me (especially if it's been a "really good hide place")

The smell of washing when it's been line-dried outside. My pink ugg slippers. Garlic bread. Daffodils.

* * *

I could go on. And on. Once you get going, the list of small stuff is endless. And it'll leave you in the best mood!

What's your Small Stuff?

#R2BC - Home, Hols & the Little Devil

It's #R2BC time again. My mood is not quite as buoyant as it was last week, but I will dig deep for some Cheerfulness. Positive thinking, 'n all that.

 1. I'm going back home this weekend, the first time I'll have seen my dear ol' Dad and my sister since Christmas. That's quite a long time for us, I usually manage to get home at least once a month with B, as we're only an hour a way. We're also going out for a nice lunch as we usually do when I get through (although a bit more difficult to book anywhere given it's Mother's Day...)

2. I'm booking a couple of days away for B and I for the Easter Hols, just waiting for confirmation from the holiday park. It's not far and it's not fancy, but it's going to be a different four walls which is all I am looking for, really. That, and some nice weather, obviously.

3. After experiencing B's Jekyll and Hyde moods all week and going through the emotional turbulence this brings, I feel better having accepted this behaviour as obviously a brief phase (such that I've seen before), connected to a growth spurt or whatever, and he'll return to his undevil-like self soon enough. I just need to keep myself calm in the meantime so that other parents in the playground don't need to wonder why the bonkers mummy is crying at 8.40am in the morning.

4. I'm constantly in awe of the amount of information and learning B soaks up in school, with his letters, sounds, common words and numeracy (although he always has been a bit of a genius when it comes to numbers...)


That's about my lot for this week. Hop on over to Mummy from the Heart to see other Reasons to be Cheerful.   

What happened there, then?

What makes your darling little angel turn into a raging, stubborn ogre for the whole day? Answers on a postcard, please...

Image Credit - Calvin & Hobbes

B's turning point this morning was, well, I don't really know, and I'm sure he doesn't know either. It just kind of happened all of a sudden. From sitting on my bed, bopping to Jessie J on the radio while I dry my hair, to a wide-eyed, pout-lipped, foot-stomping uncontrollable nightmare. In one fell swoop.




How did that happen, then? I must have looked away for a second.

The outcome?
A bathroom floor swimming in soapy water.

A bedroom door creaking in its well-slammed hinges.

 

A little boy with a half-washed face and unwashed anything else this morning. Who eventually gave in and ate a tiny half a carrot slice with his dinner (yeah, victory!) before he got his yoghurt. And who'll not be seeing his scooter or his knights' castle for the next week or so.

A very stressed out, worn out mummy who for once, let it get to her and had to sit in the car once the little ogre was in school and have a bit of a weep. Who felt very sorry for herself for a while, and wished she didn't have to deal with this on her own all the time. And who wishes there was a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge right now.

But who knows her little angel will show himself again tomorrow.

Just as well.

#R2BC Week 10 - creativity, cake and confidence

I'm actually feeling a little more cheerful this week than i have for a while now, here's a few reasons why:

• I got confirmation today of a getting a few extra hours at work. It's not going to solve all my money worries, but will certainly help a bit. And I can 'backdate' it til the start of March so i'll get a full month's worth of increased pay at the end of the month, wooppee!

• Went round to a new mummy friend's house the other day, for a playdate for B - but really more a cuppa/cake-date for us mummies, the first time we've managed to get a date when we're both free after school. 

• Felt very chuffed with my jewellery creations from last weekend's course in silver jewellery-making. Now just need to find the time and money to do some more of it!

• The author who takes the creative writing course I'm currently doing said this week she really liked my writing, which has given me a real confidence boost to keep going.

• B told me I was a 'special Mummy' this morning (don't think he was after anything...) - can't beat that for a start to the day!

Hop on over to see other Reasons to be Cheerful!

Time to get creative

For a long time now, years really, I've been feeling like my creativity, such that it is, has not been given a chance to show itself. In my previous job there were limited opportunities, similar at home, but I've always felt a desire to get my teeth stuck into something properly artistic. I'm not saying I'd be any good, but I need to give it a go.

I've also been having to think outside the proverbial box when it comes to earning some more money recently. The type of 'regular' part-time work I've been looking for is either non-existent or if I do find something, the part-time hours are fixed more or less and rule me out due to childcare commitments with B. Not having another parent in the house to take up the childcare slack, as I've blogged before, is a major stumbling block in the search for work.

So while I have a little bit of redundancy money left over to top up the meagre income I am earning, I have been starting to wonder if I could perhaps try to combine the yearning for a bit of artistic creativity with earning a bit more money. I realise this idea is a medium/long-term one, it's not going to make me money overnight, but if I could make some money from doing something I enjoy and actually may be good at, we all dream of turning a hobby into a job, don't we?

So I've been thinking of crafty ideas or projects I could try, get a feel of, dip my toe in the water, as it were. And I found a two-day course in silver jewellery making on in town last weekend, and signed up for the last place.

I had no expectations really, how I was going to get on, if I was going to like it, or be any good at it. But I really enjoyed it. There was a lot to take in, all the different tools, types of silver, soldering, pickling, mandrels (sic) etc etc. And it surprisingly required as much logical thinking as it did artistic ability, to make sure the soldering didn't burn the silver, to strengthen the silver once soldered, etc.

But with a little bit of help from our fantastic teacher, we all managed to make a bracelet and a funky ring at the end of the course. Not perfect, but given it was the first time I'd tried anything like this, I am well-chuffed with the results.

It has definitely given me a hunger to try some more of the same or something similar. It has confirmed what I knew that it is a commitment, an investment of both time and money, and so I need to be sure I can commit and will be good enough to maybe make a little bit of money out of it in the future.

But I've definitely unleashed the creative bug and so will need to quench its thirst again soon!

The Gallery - Light

For The Gallery this week, the theme is Light.

 

I immediately thought of this series of photos I took a couple of years ago, during a long weekend holiday in Perthshire. I guess a bit of a cliche in terms of a Light theme, but I love the feeling of them and the memories they evoke.

Of course, photos (at least ones from your bog standard digital camera like this one) can't do the real thing justice, because the colours in this sunset were so intense. What really struck me, I remember, was that it didn't look like I was gazing out over the countryside in the middle of Scotland, but rather an African  landscape (somewhere a bit hotter, anyway!).

Check out other Light photos at Sticky Fingers.

Silent Sunday

Dear So and So... Thinking Big

Dear Weather

I love you today, please don't change. The sun is shining, the skies are clear blue,  it's still and calm. There's a bit of a chill in the air, but hey it's only the beginning of March so I forgive you. Good mood weather. *contented sigh*. And I will ignore the upcoming unhappy weather forecast for the weekend and enjoy today while it lasts.

Yours peacefully.

* * *

Dear Time

How can it be March already?! That means there's only a few months til summer (kind of) and the end of the first whole year in school for B. That can't be right, surely I need to have got used to the whole idea of him being in school before he moves up a whole year. Slow down a bit, would you?!

Yours in disbelief.

* * *

Dear Universe

The reason I am constantly pointing my phone towards you of an evening is cos I have an newly discovered need to find out what I'm looking at up there.You can blame B for this recent fascination with all things stellar. His interest in planets and moons and stars has sparked my own. My newly downloaded star-map app is my current favourite toy, and our most-read bed-time book just now is the Usborne Beginners The Solar System, which kinda suits both B and my level of understanding!

Yours in wide-eyed awe.

* * *

Dear Twittersphere

I have dipped my toe in your cyberwaters but you scare me quite a lot. Right now I'm standing at the side of the pool, shivering. I was going to dive-bomb straight in, but when I feel brave enough I may just sidle down the stairs at the side instead.

Yours warily.

* * *