So here we are, 4 months in to 2018 and much like the rest of year- April seems to have shot past in the blink of an eye.
It's quite concerning to me how often that seems to be the case lately, the months are gone in what feels like a matter of days - it makes me worry about whether I'm not making enough of an effort to slow down and enjoy life more. I have a tendency to always be striving to reach the end of some To Do List or other, something my need for control won't allow me to step away from, but I wonder if these lists and endless tasks are actually contributing to this feeling of time passing me by. Whether time would slow down a little more if I wasn't always planning what to do next and mapping out how to fill every minute with tasks and achievements. If I allowed more time to simply just "be".
I can hardly believe April is already over with as quite honestly I feel as though I didn't really notice it beginning. It's such an odd month, some years playing host to Easter and some years it being a month where nothing much happens at all. This year being the latter of course.
We haven't been at home for most of it - we spent 10 days visiting family in Liverpool, fitting in a visit to Warwick Castle with friends on the way there and managing to squeeze in day trips to some museums in Manchester over the course of our stay too. It was an enjoyable trip but a very busy one where there was something to do every day.
We got home on the Friday, had a beach afternoon with the local home ed group that same day and then just two days later we headed off on another little holiday - this time a caravan park stay in another part of Devon. This is where our photos were taken - on a beautiful pebble beach just a stones throw from our caravan door. The weather forecast had warned of rain and wind every day but we were pleasantly surprised that for 4 out of our 5 days there we were actually treated to plenty of sunshine. We had a great time exploring together (although from the faces my children like to pull whenever the camera is brought out, you'd never believe it!)
So it's been a sort of Here, There & Everywhere month. An enjoyable one, but a hectic one too.
I wouldn't mind a calmer time of it next month but we have a lot on the cards for May too with me heading off on a mini-break with my sister for a few nights, and then a family trip to Disneyland Paris too. With more travels planned for June & July I think we're going to need to pencil in August as a month to relax and recuperate!
I'm always torn between wanting to explore the world with the boys and enjoy adventures together, and my natural homebody instinct of wanting to stay inside our little bubble at home and lock the world out. Whenever I'm doing one of those things, I'm always pining for the other. Typical me really!
This Month, I have been loving:
*Stepping out of my comfort zone with fashions more and embracing body positivity
*Getting my nightly fix of Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime, I've only got 1 season left...I need to find something else to watch soon!
*Seeing Jason Manford live - I really should make the effort to see more comedians, it was such a good night.
*Starting new family traditions - we've just introduced family Saturday nights spent watching Ninja Warrior & Britains Got Talent together, eating crumpets and chatting about the acts. It's the first time the boys have got into watching anything as a whole family and I'm really loving it, there's something that feels really wholesome about it!
Jon has been loving (In his own words):
*The idea that the new Deadpool movie is just around the corner.
*Mint Aero-I could eat ten of them. Want to dare me?
*Helping Tyne build his first ever model kit.
*A visit to the Imperial War Museum (North).
Tyne has been loving:
*Watching Horrible Histories most days - he finds it totally fascinating!
*Learning about World War 2 and the Anglo Saxons
*Taking control of what he learns about - he's decided he wants his next Home Ed topic to be Dinosaurs which should be fun!
*Watching (and acting out!) Ninja Warrior UK on a Saturday night - complete with play fighting against his brothers!
Noah has been loving:
*Pretending to make his own YouTube videos...instructing his imaginary viewers to "click the comments down below!" every time!
*Playing hair salons and giving his Barbie dolls makeovers
*Making friends with some of the local Home Ed kids at our meet ups - it's been great for him socially too!
and Sailor has been loving:
*Dancing at every given opportunity
*Having the same story every night at bed time - it always has to be Snow White, he never wants anything else!
*Watching our old Disneyland videos
*Asking "Disneyland?" every time we get into the car! He seems to think we're going there every day, if only!
So that's been our April, I hope it's been a good month for you!
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