Monthly family roundup: April 2018

Posted on 6:50am Saturday 5th May 2018

Goodbye April and hello May, hopefully, finally, the start of warm weather? I can’t believe it snowed TWICE in March. It was crazy. April wasn’t much better. There was no snow, but it’s been freezing. No spring in sight. I’ve been in my winter boots, about four layered tops, a blanket scarf and winter coat almost every single day. To say I’m a little bored of winter is an understatement! I’ve even seen people referring to this spring as ‘Sprinter’! As I type this it’s the 4^th May and after another nippy week we are set to have some hot sunshine this bank holiday weekend. I really hope so.

Anyway, let’s take a look at what we got up to in April.

Family holiday to Fuerteventura

The highlight of April was our long awaited holiday to Fuerteventura. We’d booked it a year in advance to give us enough time to pay it off and so it was a very long wait! I’m not sure how much of a ‘holiday’ it was with two young kids, but they had a great time and it was so nice to get some sunshine.

One year rhinoplasty appointment

I had a trip by myself to Guildford for my one year rhinoplasty appointment. I can’t believe it’s been one year already! I have my photos from all three of my post-op appointments, but I’m undecided if I’ll share them on my blog. I think I might as when I was searching online I loved seeing before and after photos, so it might be nice to share my experience and images too.

Whilst in Guildford I had a really delicious lunch at Beano – Guildford’s only vegan and vegetarian café. It’s in The Guildford Institute so it’s not somewhere to go if you’re looking for ambiance, but for really delicious vegan food in the day time I’d highly recommend it! I tried the vegan curry and some vegan cauliflower coconut with salad and it was scrumptious! Proper home cooked loveliness and friendly staff. I took my laptop and managed to connect to some free WiFi, so it’s the perfect spot for some day time working and meat-free food. I’d definitely go back if I’m ever that way again, but I probably won’t be as I’m signed off! I can see my surgeon whenever I need to if I have concerns, but everything is healing well and all the swelling is nearly gone, so time to just get on with my new nose and be happy!

Twisted sacroiliac joint injury

Unfortunately on holiday I twisted my sacroiliac joint. Eugh. It’s been the longest and most painful injury I’ve ever had. It’s been over five weeks now and it’s finally starting to feel normal. I can at last get my own socks on! It’s still a little tender, but I can move about freely now and it’s not agony to sneeze or cough. The muscles feel like they’re relaxing and I hope by next week (6 weeks) I can return to yoga and running. It would seem my online research was right and this injury takes 4-6 weeks to heal.

Reuben 30 hours at nursery

It’s now the term after Reuben turned three so we get 30 free hours at nursery for Reuben. He was already doing 21 hours at a playgroup, but the maximum they do is 24, so he’s now going to two settings. He does one on a Monday and Friday and the other Tuesday to Thursday. We’ll not save any money just yet as I’m saving the childcare vouchers to cover our huge summer holiday bill, but as of September the 30 free hours should make a difference to our outgoings and leave them a little lighter.

It’s great for me as I work from home, so the extra nine hours are really making a difference to how much work I can complete in the day. I don’t feel so pressured to continue with work once I’ve picked the kids up as I know I have some set hours to work every working day.

Reuben is getting on great so far. He’s a little quiet at the new setting, but I assume just because it’s only been a couple of weeks and he doesn’t really know anyone yet. He knows the setting as it’s where he and Bella go for holiday care and he also went there for a day a week when he was one. It’s crazy to think he’ll be starting school next September 2019! Though also great too as I’m so ready to leave the toddler years behind us and he’ll hopefully grow out of this terrible two/three stage ASAP!

Day out – We The Curious

Aside from our holiday, we didn’t do many days out or travel for the rest of the month aside from visiting the interactive science museum in Bristol called We The Curious. I knew it as At Bristol, but it’s had a name change. It’s somewhere we’ve wanted to visit for a while but we were waiting for Reuben to be at an age to get enjoyment out of it too. We had a blast and I go into more detail in my blog post We The Curious Bristol Science Museum Review

Bella’s last term in year one

It’s so crazy it’s the summer term at school already and Bella’s last term in year one. Then she’ll be in the last year of infants! Madness! I’m sure it will whizz by as the past 6 years already have! The difference between Bella in reception and year one is incredible and I can’t wait to see how she changes in year two. Her reading is always what impresses me the most. A year ago I was reading her bedtime stories to her and now she can read them all to me!

5 year blog anniversary (and 1 year full time)

April 2018 marked 5 years since I started this blog! Wow! My Lylia Rose shop business has been running longer than this, since August 2012, but I didn’t start the blog until April 2013. I also quit my last part time job in May 2017 so it’s also one year of being officially full time on my blog only and relying on no other source of employed income. Being a freelance blogger for one year has been amazing and I hope it continues. See the below blog posts for a chance to win £25 to celebrate my 5 year anniversary and also check out the 5 ways I made money from home for a whole year.