Birthday

Or in Vera's words,  "this is the best party ever",  "this is the best party in the whole wide world"! Someone had a great birthday!

Mid May

Time flies and it's not that I am too busy to write, but time just seems to run away. Life's ticking away. Vera is growing up fast and wants nothing more than to be a big girl. We've had a few set backs with the potty training, #2 - so if any of you experienced parents out there have any good tips, please share! It's hard to get the balance right between encouraging and saying what's right and putting too much focus on it and make her stressed. We're trying to take a step back. After all, what's a few washes in the washing machine. I'm sure it will feel like a blip in a few months/years. Mark has worked hard at home and finished the decking and installed a few new kitchen cupboards. I'm gearing up for a charity bake this weekend and working on the Seven Hills WI food stall at the Sheffield Food stall. I've bought a vintage apron to wear (which is the dress code) which I'm hoping will arrive in time! Yesterday, our lovely neighbours called Vera over and gave her some beautiful large shells from the beach in Cornwall where they've just been on holiday. Vera loves playing in the garden, watering plans, playing in her play tent and blowing bubbles. We've enjoyed some amazing weather of late, which has now moved up to Scandinavia and we've now got traditional British rain!

Breakfast

Work, house etc

We're settling into a bit of a routine now that I've been in my job for a month. One of the main draws of joining Vulcan was the location of the office and the work hours. Vera and I leave the house just after 8 am and we're at nursery for ten or quarter past. Leaving Vera is usually no problem at all, but some days she needs lots of hugs and waves. My office is only 5 mins away so I'm in the office at 8:30 or thereabouts. I don't start until 9am, but it gives me a chance to have a cup of coffee and get settled before everyone else arrives. It's a strictly 9-5 culture so at 5.10 or 5.15 I get Vera and we're home 5 mins later. Compared to Cambridge it's at least 1 hr of family time gained, plus no more traffic jam stress! Vera is VERY excited about her upcomimg birthday and party as well as momma and moffa's arrival. She is, as are all of us, very excited about going to Ireland too in June for a long overdue visit to see family. The long weekend was very good and we managed a trip to the Peaks, coffee outside in Hope and a visit to Chatsworth, where Vera got to pet some guinea pigs and go on a very tall slide. On Sunday we met Emma and her children Oscar and Lily for a walk and a picnic around the longshaw estate. Meanwhile, Mark was busy in the garden building our new decking. I'm very lucky that he's such a handy man and taking on these projects! Will post photos of the finished result soon!

May Bank holiday weekend