WTTW: Jollying around on mat leave + favourite childhood books
A weekly hello and welcome to the week :)
Hello & happy Monday!
I’m writing this on the sofa under a blanket instead of dragging Hughie out into the rain. He can hear it and doesn’t want to experience it and I’m not trying very hard to make him due to the aforementioned sogginess teamed with 21-degree heat - what are you supposed to wear for this special style of weather!?
The last few weeks have felt like a bit of a jolly. My deep love of eating has returned - hurrah!! - and having *almost* entirely dropped my daily nap like the overgrown toddler I am, it’s been nice to see people and do things just because it’s nice and also in anticipation of a not-too-distant future when I might be fuller of hands with a small human. There have been leaving parties and football/tennis/F1 viewing parties, birthday lunches and Mexican dinners (non-alcoholic margaritas taste a lot like actual margaritas guys!), yoga in the park, cream tea, several baby scans, a very low-key but very fun gender reveal (we popped a balloon with pink/blue confetti inside to update some of my family… at their request, I did not insist on this!!). I’ve also made my wallpapering debut with not one jot of help and it’s not entirely terrible, and I made a lampshade, put it on my old Etsy and someone bought it! For balance, our kitchen sink got blocked (which also meant our washing machine and dishwasher were out of action) about an hour before our oven packed up and as a result we’ve been living in deodorant-spritzed clothes surrounded by stacks of dishes grubbied by air-fryer meals. It really hasn’t been that bad but ya know, not ideal. This week, the wallpapering continues, I’ll be back and forth visiting my dad in hospital post what we hope will be his last operation (send him all the good vibes!) and some nursery planning may begin… Hope it’s less dismal where you are and this week’s already off to a good start :)
Favourite childhood books! I actually want to write about this joyful topic more on TWP and I’d LOVE to hear about your personal faves but for now: I saw recently that Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree is being made into a film with Nicola Coughlan and felt giddy at the idea. Possibly my most cherished book as a child I could instantly conjure the image of the cover and sitting on my Forever Friends bed reading the chunky tome. I quickly Googled it to see if I could gaze upon that exact edition and found someone selling an old library copy! Now it’s mine, or if you really want to set me off, will be my child’s, waaaah (but in a good way)
Well-fitting underwear. I finally caved and upgraded all my knickers (mostly on account of the bump being spliced in two by far-too-conservative elastic) and the impact it has had on my mood is astounding, if not a little ridiculous. Get yourself to M&S or if you’re preggo order these and enjoy.
Caramel & Chocolate Squares. I’m a big fan of a Rice Krispie treat anyway but even if you’re not you might still love this caramel and chocolate drizzled sweet treat. I nutted a packet in a couple of days and am eagerly anticipating the Ocado restock.
Life-saving rats! Rats are literally saving lives out there, people! So clever!!
This x a million.
Well well well that sounds an awful lot like the gender reveal you were definitely not having?! 😂🥳