I do have reasons to be cheerful - R2BC

I had a bit of a rough day yesterday and found it hard to muster up some cheerfulness but after a good nights sleep I am feeling more positive today. So better late than never . . .

1. I am losing weight. I told you it would happen and it is. I'm not dieting but I am eating better. I am feeling more confident that the weight will start to shift now that I am in control of what I'm eating. I have booked into classes at my gym next week and I am really looking forward to becoming active again. I haven't really managed any proper exercise since JC was born.

2. I am going out with one of my good friends tomorrow for Afternoon Tea. We don't see much of each other and we haven't had good quality 'chat time' in a while. There has been so much change in both our lives recently that I doubt there will be a second of silence. I am looking forward to catching up and of course enjoying the delicious tea and cakes (in moderation!).

3. JC is talking! He is starting to anyway. He is 17 months now and understands a lot of language, probably more than we realise but he is a little bit insecure about speaking out. He tends to whisper words under his breath or he does this strange ventriloquist thing by speaking with his mouth closed. Over the last week we were hearing a least a couple of new words a day. He was also singing Happy Birthday after hearing it being sung to a child at his childminders. I try not to get too hung up on stages of development as all children are different but I am happy that he is walking and now starting to talk. I guess if he is anything like his mum there will come a time that I wish he would be quiet!

Check out the other cheerful posts on Michelle's linky and add your own to take part in her anniversary giveaway!

A Productive Week - R2BC

It's that time of the week when I tell you what I'm doing cartwheels about or what I am mildly amused by. So what am I cheerful about this week?

1 - It's been a productive week. I've managed to get all my school work done for next week before actually leaving work on Wednesday (which must be a first!) I also managed to get my housework done today so that I can enjoy my weekend without the pressure of chores! So I am really pleased that my time management plan is paying off. 

2 - I went to a new soft play centre today with my Friend and her son (who is a similar age to JC). We all had great fun and it was lovely to watch JC charging around the soft play. He is such an active boy and he loves climbing so it really was a perfect place for him. We also spent a good deal of time outside in the garden today (the first time he has been in the new garden) and it was refreshing to get outside for change. 

3 - Today is the first day, since the Christmas period began, that I have not eaten any junk. I am feeling the withdrawal effects already but I am very proud of my willpower. I know that a few days 'detox' will make me feel 10x better. Once the taste of chocolate leaves my memory it won't have the same hold over me!

Hope you have all had a good week. I would like to welcome all the new readers who have been popping by over the past few weeks. It's been lovely reading all your comments and getting to know so new fabulous bloggers. 

A Cheerful Start to the Year

I purposely didn't make resolutions last year as I find I never really stick to them. Last year I focussed on:

• becoming a happier mum and becoming a more settled family unit. I am happy to say that I have achieved this. I am much more positive these days, we have moved house to be nearer to family and now that I am back at work, our finances are more secure. 
• I also wanted to cook healthier meals from scratch and eat all our meals at the table which I am proud to say I have managed to achieve. 
• I am back at work and I am enjoying working part time. I have changed my teaching stage to Nursery this year which is proving to be challenging but extremely rewarding. 

So I am determined not to make resolutions this year but next year I hope to be reporting that I  . . .

• am healthier because I have lost weight.  
• I am walking the dogs once a day by myself (My hubby took over this job when JC was born but I really miss walking them myself).
• I am dancing again (I love Salsa dancing, a hobby that I gave up when JC arrived).
• I have managed to post every day on my blog for the year (I am taking part in a 366 project inspired by The Boy and Me) 

So this year I want to focus on doing this that involve looking after myself. I'm posting this Cheerfulness post in the Reasons to be Cheerful linky which is run by Mummy from the Heart. This linky was the first one I took part in when I started blogging. It's been running for a year now and will continue into 2012. I would like to thank Michelle for her welcoming nature and support that she has given to me and other Newbie Blogger's over the past year. Hop over and check out her blog, it's fabby! 

Keep your Moans in Perspective

I felt like moaning today.

Let me paint you a picture . . .

We're moving house and it's all very chaotic. Every box I pack, JC is right behind me pulling out whisks, spatulas and other household objects. 

JC is climbing, he loves heights, I am trying to run around behind him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself.

I'm back at work and I've had parents nights this week - always a stressful event for any teacher.

My band is 'breaking up'. Okay so it's not on a Westlife or Take That scale but it's still full of emotions and crushed feelings. It's all very disappointing and sad. 

JC keeps feeding Kaiya. She has a sensitive stomach so now she is vomiting up JC's snacks all over the house. He could be a ninja, he's so sneaky. 

Some evil person hacked Hubby's XBox account and run up £170 of purchases until we figured out what was happening. Not a great time to lose money when every penny is being counted for our move.

My husband thinks that the best contribution he can make to the move effort is to play his new XBox game upstairs in the bedroom as he is 'keeping out the way'. Saying that he did do the garden today so he might have to take the rest of the week off. 

But, I have plenty to be cheerful about too. 

I have a beautiful child who is happy, healthy and full of spirit. 

I have a husband who cares about me and looks after me. At least I know he is upstairs playing computer games and not down the pub getting up to who knows what. (He also makes a great cup of tea and he makes me laugh)

The stolen money will be replaced by Microsoft eventually, it's a short term problem. 

I have a large, loving family who support and help me by listening to my moans. 

I am moving to my new house next week and everything is signed and sealed. 

I have a secure job that I enjoy. My school kids are like my adopted children and I love them all very much. Parents night is a great night to hear about how parents and children appreciate the work I do. 

Kaiya will recover once JC learns that he can't feed her, this like all stages will pass. 

The band has been a source of great anxiety, time and pressure in my life and I will notice a positive difference when it ends. 

See, I feel better now. It's all about perspective. 

Check out more cheerfulness with Michelle's Blog Hop being hosted by Kate this week. 

Smile, Just Smile

It's that time of the week again where I like to look back on the past week and think about things that I am  cheerful about. I have to say that it is particularly difficult this week as it hasn't been the best of weeks.

I am not going to fall into my usual trap and dwell on what hasn't gone well this week but I am going to tell you the things in my life that bring me through the other side. The things that make life worthwhile during the hardest moments.

This smile - He smiles with his eyes. Even when he is sick or teething, he still finds the happiness within him to give me this smile. He is a smiley boy and anyone who has ever met him will confirm that they have witnessed a beautiful smile from him but I do think that the one that is captured in this photo here, is the one he keeps just for me.

My wine of choice at the
moment

Red Wine - Not for the purposes of dulling the pain or drowning the sorrows but for the fabulous smooth taste in each glass of red wine that transports my memories to foreign holidays and cosy firesides.

My Bridesmaids pictured here are
some of my closest friends

Friends - I have so many fabulous friends, some I see everyday, some I see less frequently and some I have never even met but I spend so much time speaking to them online that I feel they know me better than I know myself. The amount of support I get from my friends is unbelievable. I will always be grateful to the friends who came to visit me when I was struggling with Grumpinator as a baby. They cooked for me, listened to me, took a turn of holding him while he screamed, cried with me, offered advice, made me laugh and put up with my uncomfortable silences when I couldn't quite find the words.

Me and My Mum

Phone calls - I spend a lot of time on the phone, much to hubby's disgust! When things are tricky or I just need to vent, I usually pick up the phone and call my mum. She is usually captured and has to listen to me until her phone runs of out battery. Sometimes she tells me things I don't want to hear but need to hear regardless. I appreciate her honesty and the fact that she sometimes misses her dinner or favourite TV program because she is listening to my ramblings. JC has picked up a lot from me - can you tell in this video . . .

For more cheerfulness check out Michelle's blog

If your happy and you know it clap your hands

Clap Clap!

I have been blog AWOL recently and I have been really struggling to find the motivation at nights as I have very little time through the day now that I am back at work, gigging with the band at weekends and spending all my other spare minutes with my boy. However, this is a blog promise. I will step it up. If I don't, I worry that you will all lose interest and forget about me and I can't let that happen. This blog has kept me sane during my period of insane maternity leave.

So, I started with memes to get my creative juices flowing in the beginning and this one from Michelle at Mummy from the Heart was always one of my favourites.

Reasons to be Cheerful! I have plenty to be happy about at the moment so this shouldn't be a difficult task for me.

This is the new house

1 - We have bought a new house and we are moving in November. We are not selling our house, we are letting it out as that makes so much more financial sense in the long run.

This is his cool look

2 - My little Grumpinator makes me feel so cheerful every day. He loves to dance and every time we put on MTV he bops along which just makes me smile. I just love every inch of him. Check out his moves here.

His name is Spike and the
other one is called Stoorie

3 - My friend has hurt her back and can no longer look after her rabbits so we have offered to give them a home once we move. I am very excited about this as I have wanted a rabbit for a while now but felt like our little garden just wasn't big enough.











It's only meant to be 3 reasons but I'll just slot in another one

4 - When I logged on last night, I was reading some of my favourite blogs and discovered that 3 of my fellow bloggers, who I met at Cybermummy, are pregnant and due their next bundle of joy. This made me so happy!! I am super pleased for Hannah, Heather and Nazima and I hope that they all keep well in the coming months. Apologies if I have missed anyone else who has made an announcement. I really haven't been reading much lately so I'm a bit out of the loop.

Hop over to Michelle's blog for more cheerfulness . . .