Happy Halloween from our family to yours (I can still get away with that right?)! I hope you had as much fun as we did last night – trick or treating around the village with some of our friends and cousins, and generally having a very fun time! I’ve never particularly been a massive Halloween fan and even went through a phase where I really hated it. As kids we had parties growing up and did some trick or treating too up the street. But, as our kids have gotten older, it has become bigger and we have tried to embrace it a little more. I think it helps a lot to be living somewhere now that is really happening on Halloween night, and where a good chunk of our friends and neighbours get into it too with amazing decorations and even answering the door in fancy dress – Epic times!
We had some local family and friends over for dinner and trick or treating round the village last night to mark the occasion. I made spaghetti bolognese for about 20 people, followed by a few treats brought by the fam. We then went en masse trick or treating for a good hour around the neighbourhood and it was great. To sum it up, it was very wild but a lot of fun too and an ideal way to mark the end of October!
October has been fast flowing for us (and rather wet at times too hasn’t it?); I started a new job which is going really great, but this new addition to life has meant that it’s also been a bit nuts too to adapt to a new routine. I have a new level of tired, but also a new sense of balance too, which has already seen a shift in the home. The kids have been lagging as we have neared the end of term, which has meant a couple of late marks! We have however, just about managed all of the extra-curricular activities (minus sewing club that megan dropped out of early in the month because “it wasn’t right for her at this stage of life!). Alice and I enjoyed a wonderful day to Williams Den for their Pumpkin Party, and Nathan has settled into his teacher training and is getting to grips with lesson plans and reflective logs!
Ethan turned 9 years old on the 14th (what!) and so the start of the month was very much about prepping for that! We had a fun few days celebrating him; with pizza, treats, a lemon drizzle birthday cake and, a day out to Magna Science museum in sheffield. He loved his Harry Potter satchel, lego and other gifts and we have loved making him feel special.
October 2019 has also seen us celebrate a decade of marriage and whilst we are yet to take a couples break, we thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on the growth and the highs and lows of 10 years together. Ultimately though, it is such a wonderful thing to look at all we have right now because we kept choosing one another these last 10 years. I love to look at our kids and our life, and see what has grown out of the love we have for one another.
The highlight of October has certainly been these last few days. They have seen us take a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam and have some Halloween fun together. It was certainly stressful at times (I won’t pretend it isn’t taking 3 kids on a ferry and confined to a tiny cabin with minimal stuff and minimal plans), but overall, it was such good fun, such a massive bargain and we all loved the adventure.
It was great to walk around all of the canals and see Anne Franks house, but one of my favourite moments was small and random – it was when we got some chips with their famous spicy-cheesy mayo on to share and, of course everyone dived in at once – it was so funny!
Overall October 2019 has been a blessed and lovely month for our family. It is always special to celebrate our marriage and our first born. And, it is always lovely to have a half term break too. October has been great as we have had our first feels of Nathan being home in the school holidays, and it is pretty mint! It has meant I can work an extra day (today) and that we could also take a spontaneous little break away together. It is hard work right now balancing everything, but we have ahad glimpse of the balance and lifestyle we will be getting in life in the near future, when he qualifies as a teacher and I finish my counselling training…and that is really great.
I am feeling quite settled in life right now – We are all happy, well and filled with rich memories of a lovely month! It blows my mind to think we only have 2 more months of 2019 left and that in exactly 1 week I will be turning 35!! November is always lovely with birthday celebrations, Bonfires and christmas prep beginning and we are looking forward to making the most of this coming month.
In October 2019 we are grateful for
*Ethan (and all he brings to our fam)
*A trip to Magna – so much fun
*10 years of marriage
*Time with family and friends
*Halloween fun!
*A spontaneous trip to Amsterdam (and calm seas!)
* Bargain Trips
*The days it didn’t rain
