Our birthday in lockdown!

Happy Birthday to us!

 

If you don’t know, Sam and I share a birthday – Crazy I know! – on the 10^th of June. This year we were supposed to be in Prague over our birthday, just Sam and I, but for obvious reasons this didn’t happen and we are looking at rebooking for next year.

We didn’t celebrate our birthday on the 10^th as Harry had an appointment at Great Ormand Street Hospital, but a few days before we booked a take-away afternoon tea at a local tea room, picked it up and took it to the stately home near us to picnic in the grounds. The house was not open due to the Covid – 19 situation but the ground were and so we leisurely ate our picnic in the grounds then went exploring! Harry loved the afternoon tea – the tea room did a children’s tea too and Harry had dinosaur-shaped sandwiches and a huge slice of cake which was probably his favourite bit! – and had such fun exploring the grounds of the home. We spent most of the day there.

A few days after our birthday we did a celebratory video chat quiz with all of our family and were very kindly treated to a wonderful Turkish take – away by Sam’s family.

 

While it wasn’t the birthday we had imagined and expected, it has been a great way to celebrate our day!

Books to read in lockdown

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Today's post is all about books! I very rarely talk about books on here but honestly, I love to read - not that I get much time to do so now but thank god for Audible - but now that my furlough is over I thought I would talk you through some of my favourite books if you are looking for something to read during lockdown. 

Eve of Man - Giovanna and Tom Fletcher

                                                           

This book is one of my favourite 'new books' I've never read anything from Giovanna or Tom Fletcher before but currently in my Amazon wishlist is EVERYTHING they have ever written (I think Harry is going to love 'The Dinosaur that pooped...' books) This book is brilliant. Definitely a Young Adult (YA) book but seamless. The idea behind this book is fab and I cannot wait to read the second instalment which I have ordered and should be here very soon!

You can find Eve of Man here

Dublin Murder Squad series - Tana French

                                               

So this is a series of crime books, but what I love is that you can read them as stand-alone books too - They are linked by the main character in each book which is just ingenious. My favourite from the series is The Likeness but every single one of them is beautifully written and just amazing. I was never a 'crime' lover when it came to books but I read In The Woods when I was around 15 and was obsessed. There are six books in total

You can find these here - 

In The Woods

The Likeness

Faithful Place

Broken Harbour

The Secret Place

The Trespasser

Why Mummy... Series - Gill Sims

I think if you aren't a mum you maybe won't appreciate these books as much but I have laughed and cried and over every moment of these books. Confession - I haven't technically read these books as I have them on audiobook - but all in all fab books - There are three in the series and I would ADORE more!

The links for these - 

Why Mummy Drinks

Why Mummy Swears

Why Mummy Doesn't Give A F**k

Harry Potter - JK Rowling

                                                     

I can't do a book post without talking about Harry Potter! If you haven't read them - Where have you been?! If you have - Why not read them again!

Find the set here or individually (please note - I don't think you can get my covers anymore as these were the original publish covers);

Philosophers Stone

Chamber Of Secrets

Prisoner Of Azkaban

Goblet Of Fire

Order of the Phoenix

Half-Blood Prince

Deathly Hallows

The Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

                                                    

This was the first book by Jodi Picoult that I read and I couldn't put it down! Its a crime book again - with loads of other stuff thrown in. This book had me crying towards the end so make sure you have your tissues ready. If you've never read anything by this author please read this one!

Find this here

And the final recommendation from me - The Causal Vacancy - JK Rowling

                                   

This book was really controversial when it first came out and was JK Rowling's first foray into books for adults and away from Harry Potter, many fans didn't rate it but I loved it! It felt like JK Rowling understood her audience and as a Harry Potter child, I needed something more substantial - and boy did she deliver. A fab read but gets dark and heavy in places so be prepared for that. 

The Casual Vacancy available here

I'm always on the lookout for new books to read so let me know your favourites! And if you read any of these let me know what you thought.

Organisation tips for working mums

Well, my furlough is over and I am back to work. 

I had nearly 11 weeks off in total and have just finished week one back at work. Getting back into that routine was hard, to say the least. 

I definitely made things easier for myself though. I was lucky enough to have about 5 days notice before my return to work so I could prepare. When thinking back to that Sunday night before I felt really smug about how organised I was. So I thought I would put together some of my tips for working mums. 

1. Have a nighttime routine - A solid nighttime routine has always been the biggest help when it comes to being organised, and I'm not just talking about your child. It's important to make sure you have enough time to do everything you need to and still get enough sleep so that you can function at work the next day

2. Plan every detail - I am obsessive about being prepared and so have a list of things that I keep in my work bag at all times - I have a work bag post coming up if you are interested too - I check my bag every night and pop in everything I need. This is also important because you need to know what it is you are doing each day - Maybe you are going shopping after work or out with friends, so you may need to grab some reusable bags or lipstick and eyeliner for after work too. 

                                        

3. Get everything ready the night before - If you only take notice of one of the organisation tips in this post, let it be this one. I hate rushing around in the morning, trying to grab lunch and get my bag together while dealing with Harry who is asking for snacks and juice and something on the TV or me to read his book with him. When I already have everything ready and its just a case of grabbing my lunch from the fridge as I'm leaving the house means I'm more relaxed, also means that I get half an hour to sit with Harry and read his book or play his mega blocks before I leave. 

4. Develop a work 'capsule wardrobe' - Obviously, if you wear a uniform this one isn't really all that relevant to you. If you don't, however, I have found it very useful to have a capsule wardrobe for work that make picking my outfits so much easier. I have 8 tops, 2 dresses, 3 pairs of trousers and 3 different pairs of shoes in my work wardrobe at all times. I tend to swap pieces out every so often so it doesn't get too samey but basically wear the same thing. It's not adventurous but means I have more time to relax and spend less time stressing out my outfit.

                                        

5. Meal planning - I think I would meal plan, even if I weren't a working mum, I hate that question 'what's for dinner' Have a plan. This will help with time-saving and also help you build your shopping list. 

I hope you have found these tips helpful! Let me know if you think I've missed some.