#R2BC - Getting Fitter, My Op's Booked & Feeling Motivated

The Homeless Bard's Poem

God is good! I've had a very lovely week and I'm happy to share it with you all. I do hope your weeks have been just as fun.

Last weekend my husband and I headed up to London for a night away and to attend the Premier Digital Conference (think BritMums Live for Christians). We had a super time and there was so much I could share about it but I have decided to post one good reason to be cheerful for each day. Last year for Advent I did #1GoodThing a day on Instagram and I think I'll do it again this year, it is a lovely way too stay focused on the good in life and to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, corny but super worthwhile!

Thursday - I had a fitness test at the gym and in the last 6 weeks my fitness level has really improved, my heart rate had dropped by about 12 beats per min at the same activity levels compared to when I started to exercise

Friday - We met The Homeless Bard in Trafalgar Square and I couldn't help but write about him, he is such an inspirational man

Saturday - We attended the conference and I came away fired up with so many ideas for blog posts

Reasons to be Cheerful - Time Away, Work and Family Time

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed if I'm honest. You know when you have too much on and don't feel as if there is enough time to complete it all?

Away in London with my Hubby
I'm trying to ignore that feeling and push it away as tomorrow I'm off up to London with my hubby for 36 hours while a lovely friend of ours looks after the kids. We're due to go to the Premier Digital Conference at the Brewery but if I'm honest I'm not feeling that inspired to go, so we will play it by ear and see how it all pans out. Whatever happens we'll have some fun and I'll forget about blogging and work obligations for all of Friday and Saturday.

Loads of Work and Goodies
Talking of blogging an being overwhelmed it is a good problem to have really. I just need to manage my expectations of myself and not expect everything to be done super quick. I need to get used to having a busy to-do list every day. All the paid work coming in is allowing me to plan holiday for next year and all the goodies arriving will make the children very happy when Christmas day arrives.

Chilled Half Term
I've not written an R2BC post for a couple of weeks as time run away from me over half-term but we had a good chill out, staying mainly close to home. The kids went swimming and to one of those huge trampoline parks, we had a couple of meals out and did some shopping and that was about it really (I was a good girl and made it to the gym twice). JJ worked a couple of days and I'm just getting used to the idea that my 14 year old is now big enough to have a real job.

Dressing my Man with Jacamo - 23 Years On

Our family back in early 2004 when JJ was being christened

My husband and I will have been together for 23 years this Christmas, we were just young 21 year olds when we met working at a hotel in Eastbourne all those years ago. It always makes me smile to think how much I was dreading being sent to work in the hotel over the Christmas period. I was based up at the London Head Office at the time but as a new Graduate Trainee Manager I wasn't allowed to have Christmas off when everyone else on the programme was working so Eastbourne it was to be!

I had visions of a run-down hotel full of grannies where bingo was the highlight of their stay. I thought all the staff would be old and stuck in their ways and the town would have shut down for the Winter period. Of course in some ways I was right, the hotel was full of elderly people and bingo was a definite attraction, as was Jean on the Piano and Malcolm on the Organ but what I hadn't banked on was that the Assistant Manager would become my husband and that most of the staff were young and there was a great many nightclubs in town all catering for our age group.

When I first met dh I wasn't too impressed if I'm honest, I thought he was a bit camp and he tried to give me a staff room with a door that wouldn't lock. I did of course notice how good he looked wearing a suit and tie and it is funny but my overriding early memories of him were that he had great hair and nails. It was almost as if I was assessing him for future pedigree!

I asked him to marry me with a sweetie!

I have been with my husband for a long time, we got together on 28th December 1994, he rescued me from a wet and windy pier and a horrid creepy guy.  He was my hero! OK scrub that, he still is my hero.

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic recently and was thinking back over our eventful relationship together. In 1999 my husband asked me to marry him when we were on holiday in Tenerife, I said yes,  I had been waiting quite a while for that proposal.  It was very romantic - late at night and we were sat at the waters edge looking at a beautiful electric storm out at sea.  He asked me if I could see where the sea met the sky and I replied no. He told me he loved me that much, further than we could ever see. It may sound corny to you but that was possibly one of the most lovely, unprompted things he has ever said to me.  He is not much of a talker you see.

Less is More

Having a wonderful time in #London with my hubby. Great food, lots of laughter, a very long walk & soon Wicked at the theatre. #1goodthing

A photo posted by Michelle Pannell (@michelletwinmum) on Jan 20, 2017 at 9:04am PST

I've just got back from a lovely overnight trip up to London with my husband. We went up to see Wicked the musical and enjoy a meal in China Town, which was his Christmas gift from me. I'm very into giving people experiences for their presents rather than something physical that they don't actually want or need. Of course the added bonus is that I get to enjoy this gift too. Clever, right?

Whilst we were away together I was reminded that less really is more in so many ways. We only had one night away due to our children and finances but because we had that limited time we made the most of the time we did have and really enjoyed it. Also because we go away on our own so infrequently nowadays, again is it that same thing, that we relish the time. We have far less time together and certainly less breaks away but I think we treasure and embrace them more now than we ever did in our twenties.

On arrival in London we didn't want to have to rush to our hotel to leave bags so we decided to pack light and managed with just my handbag and a small rucksack that my hubby carried. This was comfortable for our two mile walk from China Town to Vauxhall, where we had booked a Travelodge for a good price of just £59 for the room. Thus providing another example that less is more as it was at least £40 cheaper than anywhere else and that difference paid for our Chinese meal and very good it was too.

I really can't grumble - Reasons to be Cheerful #R2BC

Morning friends, how are you this week? I'm well, despite numerous aches and pains that I am sure would suit a body at least thirty years older than mine! lol

But enough of my niggles, it is Thursday morning and that means for me and the cheerful gang that we will share the reasons this week why we are feeling grateful. There are so few of us who join in with this linky nowadays that it would be really tempting to just give up and to be honest there have been a couple of times I've handed over the reigns and walked away for a bit but I can't get it from under my skin. There is nothing better than giving thanks and acknowledging that there is always a silver lining, a glimpse of blue sky and that when we choose to approach the world with a thankful heart even the roughest times can be got though.

I've learnt so much from some of the women who have (and still do) joint in with this linky over the last five years. Thank you especially to Becky, Candi and Rachel who tirelessly post and encourage me to look again at my own life. I am especially thankful that Reasons to Be Cheerful gave a prompting to some people in their darkest times and helped them through a rough patch.

If you are new here this week, why don't you join us? All you need to do is link up a post that is making you cheerful, one where you share your gratitude, or boast about your kids or look for the silver lining?

A Child Free Weekend in London - A Big Reason to be Cheerful!

Love this shot. You know when a photo just makes you smile. It was my first time walking across the Millenium bridge over the #Thames yesterday. #London

A photo posted by Michelle Pannell (@michelletwinmum) on Nov 14, 2016 at 2:38am PST

Happy Thursday, I hope you are all having a wonderful week.

I've had a great week, it has been pretty low key but the weekend was superb as my husband and I got to go and stay in London together without the kids. It happens once or twice a year and you just can't put a price on the value of that time alone as a couple. So thank you Annie for looking after them so well and they had a ball with you, there are not many babysitters they ask for again.

Quiet Train Ride 
We set off fairly early Saturday morning so we could make the most of the day and it was great to spend 90 minutes just chatting without any interruption. I had downloaded some programmes to watch and taken my book and I didn't need either. Hubby was on good form and good company! lol

Premier Digital Conference
We attended the Premier digital conference during Saturday and had a good time. Neither of us had particularity high expectations as last years conference was a little basic for us but they had upped their game and the stream for experienced bloggers was way better. I particularly liked the sessions on legalities and vlogging. I've made a promise to myself that I'll vlog once a week from Jan, ekkk. I better start getting in some practise.

I was a finalist in two of the award categories for the Premier Digital awards for my faith blog Progress Not Perfection. We didn't go to the awards in the evening though as I already knew I wasn't a winner or runner up and sadly they only pay for those tickets and the cos was beyond our means.

Reinstating our Date Nights with Pistachio and Orange Crusted Lamb #MiniRoast

Date night in Hastings earlier this year

My husband and I have been married for fourteen years now but together for twenty-two and with three tween and teenage kids it can be hard to find the space to make time for us to just be a couple. 

Sometimes (no idea why) we seem to be better at this than others. If I'm honest we have not been great at carving out time for ourselves in recent months, we've stolen moments after dinner to chat or had the odd cinema night but we've not had a really good long chat for some time. I think the last time might have been the beginning of May when we went for some food and then had a long walk along the seafront in Hastings and visited the new pier. I do love those times when we have no agenda and we just wonder and chat about whatever is on our hearts at that point.

I've realised that I do need to be more intentional again and make sure we are having the opportunity to have those special times together. One of the barriers is how often we are in the house on an evening together. At the moment this is only a Wednesday and Saturday and I have to admit that I love a full family Saturday night with snacky food and trashy TV, so that just leaves Wednesdays but a week night isn't always ideal after dh has been at work all day and the kids have homework. I'll have to be a big girl and give up my trashy Saturday night TV every once in a while as well as making time on a Wednesday.

Date Night, Walking the Cliffs and Beautiful Sunsets

Happy Thursday friends, how are you today?

I'm doing well but getting desperate for the end of term, there is so much going on and the kids are getting more and more tired. I really struggle to understand why primary school children still have homework at this time of year, mine just can't focus... but not long now!

It has been a fabulous last week in general and here is just a few of the highlights -

1.   A great date night with my hubby. We went to see the film Absolutely Fabulous and it gave us a good few belly laughs and we also enjoyed a fabulous authentic Italian meal. I'd highly recommend Rustico Italiano in Hastings, East Sussex if you are ever local. Such reasonable prices and the food was exceptional.

2.   Cliff walking with our Pastoral Group at Seven Sisters and the Birling Gap. This area of outstanding beauty managed by the National Trust is truly beautiful and really worth a day trip. We have been here dozens of times but I never tire of it. You can walk for miles or just lie there and take in the glory of God's creation. I'll be blogging separately about this soon.

Thanks to Erica for this great picture

#R2BC - Taking Walks, Saying No and NOW TV

Oh my goodness, it is 11.06pm Wednesday night as I write this and I'm supposed to be in bed sleeping as I've been being a good girl with my bed times just recently and it makes such a difference to my day when I get enough sleep. I'm sure the kids can fully appreciate how much calmer and nicer I am when well rested. I truly feel as if my life is in balance at the moment and I have a bit of everything I need. It is a good feeling when you have learnt to accept that you deserve time out and it is OK to say no to people and situations.

But the reason for my typing this so late is one of my reasons to be cheerful. I got to have an impromptu night out with my husband and it was so needed as crap stuff is going on at the moment and it is all-consuming and stressful. We went for a yummy Indian meal and then had a nice long sunset walk along the beach to try and burn off some of the excess calories! Chatting and day dreaming about the gorgeous houses along the beach was a nice break from real life.

Dear So and So - The Random Musings

OK, uneasy Feeling,

You can bog right off. I hate you. There is no need for me to have this sense of dread, this worry that something might be wrong. Yes there are a few little niggling things but none of them are important and none of them need to take up excessive mind space.

Whenever I feel like this, I have learnt that I have to acknowledge that my equilibrium is off and then I need to be really conscious to acknowledge what is troubling me and work out the worst case scenarios. At this point I know it is all manageable and I refuse to allow the devil to steal my joy.

So there you go, bleur feelings. You've had your marching orders. Time to leave Mich alone as I won't be succumbing to the downward spiral that you would love me to embark on!

I remain in control and God is the only one I answer to!

Michelle

5 ways for Dads to spend quality time with their kids

Happy Fathers Day all. I have today at the request of Mothercare handed my blog over to my lovely husband. He's only guest posted here once before in the seven years this blog has been live so I'm feeling very honoured.

1.    Find a shared interest

For the last ten years I've been a Cub leader and for many of those my son JJ has joined me to camp and then attended Beavers, Cubs and now Scouts. This has led to a shared love of outdoor scouting pursuits such as hiking, wide games and camping. Recently my daughters have joined Cubs and it makes such a difference to my motivation when I see them all excited on a Tuesday night.

How do you make your husband feel loved and valued?

Over the last month or so I’ve been reading a great book on marriage, it is both instructional and autobiographical and it has reminded me how important my marriage is and perhaps how my eye has gone off the ball. All is well but I just know it could be better, if you asked my husband if he felt really loved and appreciated, would he say ‘yes, for sure’. I think perhaps not, so this means I have some work to do.

Now if you are a non-Christian reading this you might be thinking ‘well that is all a bit one-sided Michelle, you both have to work at it and surely he should be putting in the effort too’ and of course you are right, marriage involves two partners and we both have roles to play but as a Christian, I believe that actually there are three parts to my marriage and the third one is God.  By changing my attitudes and actions in prayer and consultation with God I know that my husband will see and hear those changes in a far more tangible and real way than if I was to sit him down for a deep and meaningful chat.

Love is an action after all, we choose to love someone. The flutters in your stomach and the hearts and romantic notion of love does not last a lifetime unless you work at it and nurture that kind of love. So even when you are not feeling it, it is so important that you are taking actions to show it and actually what I’ve found to be true is that the feeling then comes back again.

Last week I asked my husband to take the 5 Love languages profile so I could find out what it is that speaks love to him. Gary Chapman is a very well-known author nowadays and his work on the love languages has changed thousands of relationships for the better. I’ve been with my husband twenty years but the second to highest love language it showed for him was a complete surprise to me, I’m looking forward to our dinner tonight to discuss this more.

It is so important to find out how your partner receives love, personally, I like to do practical tasks and it is an act of love when I polish shoes, change the bed or iron all his shirts. This is not at all how my husband receives love and without understanding that I could feel quite taken for granted. Any time we can invest in our marriage is so important, a few years back my husband and I attended a marriage course run by the local church. This was not a course for those in trouble but for those (at any stage of their marriage) to strengthen it. It was truly wonderful - dinner cooked for us and then a romantic table for two with drinks and desserts and prompter questions to explore our thoughts, feelings and life together.  I’d love to do another one of these as I think you both change with time and especially as we have both matured as Christians in the last eight years or so since we did it.

As I’m wanting to honour my husband and to express my love for him I thought I’d ask a group of Christian women what they do to make their husband feel special, just the small actions that make a difference to him and their marriage. Here are some of the ideas they shared with me -

• I do things that I know will make him feel loved (namely, make him a coffee and buy/make him small pressies) - reading the book Love languages was really positive for our marriage as it showed us how we were communicating love differently. (The Fairy and the Frog)
• For me, it's keeping the house tidy (or trying to!!) as that's what helps him relax!
• Some times are harder than others. Family life can be a challenge, particularly the often complexities of raising a family. Keep talking, through good and not so good times, reminding him, as he will hopefully remind you that your marriage is important.and for life.
• We have set a night a week as a devotions night together - we read a passage, discuss it and pray through it together along with whatever else is on our minds. We found that by prioritising time with each other but also with God that our relationship was closer and out of that closeness with God we actually had some amazing evenings together.
• I always greet him properly with a kiss, eye contact and comment when I see him. He addresses me before the kids when he gets home. I send him love texts and or bible verses every day by text. He sends me links to articles he thinks would interest me. We try to have a date night each week, though lately, it's a home a lot. We try to hug and hold hands and have physical contact in the business of the day. We pray or read the bible together.
• I feel a bit embarrassed saying this but making the effort to initiate sex makes a big difference to him! And booking a babysitter to take him out!
• Use the time on Snooze to turn to face your partner, cuddle, chat or whatever. Also the ten second kiss to show you care, my husband teased me by counting with his fingers and claiming longer or saying I had forgot to kiss him long enough!
• A big thing is saying thank you to each other. 
• We have started to sit down on a Wednesday night with the calendar and work out who is where when for the next week!
• I just started the 5 love languages (for her) bible reading plan on the You Version bible phone app and it's already helped me and my attitude after 2 days! Would recommend it (they do a for him one too).
• Put a nice song on whilst the kids are around and have a slow dance with your hubby and let the kids join in too. Our daughter loves it and comes up for a dance in between us sometimes. Also it reinforces our relationship in front of her.
• Date night & read The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie OMartian, very insightful. (Lizzie at LizzieSomerset)
• Show him you respect him. Very important.
• I'm loving doing the Love Dare book right now, a bible verse, addressing an attitude and then a daily dare to invest in your marriage,
• We have a night away every 3 months or so. 
• I heard something awesome this weekend. A woman was telling my friend about a marriage course called 'respect and love'. I don't know anything about it, but as she explained it my jaw dropped. She said men need to love their wives, then the wives can respect their husbands and women need to respect their husbands, making it easier for the husbands to love their wives.  Made me happy and think about my marriage in a new way.
• I think it's realising what your hubby needs. For me notes, pressies and slushy texts are all what I like and make me feel loved but definitely not what makes him feel loved, he doesn't get it! Also my Hubby needs me to sit next to him and do nothing, my constant tidying, cleaning and planning make him stressed.
• Supporting him in all things. I have the joy (not) of being secretary of his RC club even though I actually hate them but Alan enjoys them and loves his club so I will support him where I can. (Sara at Walking with Angels)
• Not putting him down in front of other people. (Filipa at Gourmet Mum)
• Making sure I thank him regularly for working hard. It's easy to forget as it's not as 'visible' as me looking after the kids or cleaning the house but his job facilitates me being able to do those things and he sacrifices being at home with us more for that.(Jess at Catch a Single Thought)
• We did Mark Gunghor's Laugh your way to a better Marriage course at church and I think you can watch clips on Youtube, it is very helpful and humorous. It has helped us understand how men think differently than women, Anyway, he described men as thinking of one thing at a time ie , cars, TV, work, kids and that's it, whereas women tend to compartmentalise things kids, job, shopping etc but they are all interconnected and she can think about several topics at a time.
• Prayer emails from the Unveiled Wife and the 5 day Valentines challenge from Time Warp Wife were suggested too
• To look directly into each others eyes for four minutes (set a timer!) without talking. We did it for the first time yesterday, it was so powerful, bringing me to tears and repentance

Woah, that is an awful lot of good information there and I suspect it might be too much to take in on one sitting but I just didn't want to leave anything out. So bookmark this page and come back again. In fact come back once a year, each year of your marriage and take on board a few new ideas each time.  That is how we ensure we have a healthy and fresh marriage.

Wishing you a very happy valentines day, I hope you enjoy the time with your spouse. Mich x

History lost - Black and white project

This is probably my favourite black and white photo that I have taken since I got my new camera at the end of last year.  This was taken at the end of January this year after meeting the lovely Anya in Eastbourne. We'd had coffee and a great chin wag and then I walked back to my car in the rain and enjoyed looking at the stormy sky and the pier for a while, before the departure back to real life and the school pick-up.

Eastbourne pier means a lot to me, it holds a very special place in my heart as it is where dh and I shared our first kiss. Back in December 1994 I worked as a trainee manager for Friendly hotels and my placement was at their head office in London. As the office would be close for Christmas I was shipped off to the hotel in Eastbourne to work the season as trainee managers were not allowed Christmas off. It is funny to look back now, as I remember crying about having to go to Eastbourne, my thoughts at the time were that it would be an awful place full of old people.

The first person I met when I walked into the Mansion hotel was my dh to be. I didn't think much of him if I'm honest, he was the assistant manager and he had heard about me before I arrived from other trainee manager friends of mine. We obviously worked together for a while and got to know each other a bit and I remember one particular night when we both drunk our body weight in red wine and fell asleep in the public lounge but it was not until 28th December 1994 that we actually got together. In fact until that night I had no idea I had any interest in him. 

After finishing work a group of us were heading to the nightclub on the pier (Odyssey I think it was called back then) and it was a rainy and windy night. Being a 21 year old girl I wanted to look my best so I had my umbrella to protect my hairdo and dh warned me to take it down on the pier as it was too windy. Not to be deterred we started to walk towards the club and the wind combined with a wet wood floor meant that I landed on my bum and he picked me up.

Later that night in the club a creepy guy was trying to dance with me and again dh rescued me and we danced and kissed. There followed some interesting and stormy years getting to know each other and forging a relationship.  In 2002, after 8 years together we finally felt ready to be married and here we are three children and nearly 20 years after first meeting.

A few days ago when I was on holiday I was super sad to hear that part of Eastbourne Pier has burned down. We now live about 15 miles from Eastbourne and visit fairly regularly and it still holds really special memories for me, I pray it gets rebuilt and history restored.

Here is a picture taken by my husband yesterday where you can see the first part of the pier (closest to the beach) and all that is left is the iron structure, it used to be a white wooden cuildng iek the others on the pier.

I'm linking up with Charly over at PODcast for her Black & White project

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

What do I do to make him feel loved?

I was over at Veriily Victoria Vocalises the other day reading a crowd sourced post that Vic had written called 'The Things we do for love'. It was about the great things that partners and husbands do for some female bloggers and these things ranged from morning cups of tea to buying a diamond a year.

I started to wonder what my husband did for me and before I could get too far in my thought process I caught myself and turned the question around. What do I do for my husband? What are the little things that let him know that I love him? That he is my one and only?

It would have been far too easy to get caught up with the green eyed monster and to start to feel gloomy that he does not buy me a diamond a year and yes, I do have a real penchant for diamonds. Before kids he bought me lots of them, after kids not so much so. Or I could have felt disgruntled that he does not rub my feet or buy me flowers every week but then I have to stop and ask myself do I want those things?  No being the answer, they are not the love gestures that would make a difference for me.

So back to the question I posed for myself, what do I do to make him feel loved? and you know what I'm struggling with this.  Firstly I'm struggling as after twenty years I'm not that sure what it is that makes him feel loved.  Recently I did the free online love languages test and it showed that the ways I feel love most are physical touch and then words of affirmation and quality time in equal measure. It is funny as I had assumed that the things that might talk love to me were dh giving me gifts or perhaps when he is helpful around the house but as I read my profile I really recognised myself and knew it was true. I've therefore realised that I need to get my husband to do this test so that I can find out exactly what ways I need to show him my love.

Most things I do, I do with a smile because I love my family. I like to keep a nice house, I try to cook vegetarian meals my husband will like when no-one else in the family is veggie, I arrange date nights so we can go out together and I make sure we function as a family with lots of fun time out together. I'd like to tell you I tell him I love him regularly or that I grab him for impromptu hugs but actually I've slipped on those fronts in recent times and I have to pray that gifts is not his primary love language as I rarely buy him anything as he is that guy that wants nothing.

So thinking this through and writing this post has really bought to my attention that I need to mend my ways and take more time and care to show my husband just how much he means to me. I got told recently that if you want a good friend you need to be a good friend first and this has to surely be the same in your relationship too.

It is time for me to stop taking my relationship for granted and to start upping my game. I think we need a date night this week and I better find out what he wants from me.

Come on ladies, share with me, what do you do for your partner? I need some ideas to get me going.....

Thanks, Mich x

Time away with your loved one

It amazes me as I get older just how quick time passes. I really have no idea how it dashes past so quickly but nowadays it seems to be gone in a flash. Back in October my husband and I went away for three nights on our own and that time was so needed. We had not been alone like that for well over a year and we vowed that we must not leave it that long again. It is so important to stay connected with your partner and to ensure you are in tune and making time for each other.

I’m really thankful to the Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel for offering my husband and I a night away in a couple of weeks. We have decided to postpone Valentine’s Day for a week and to enjoy it when we are away together.

Listen to this – just how lucky are we?

Dh is off work so we will drive down to my lovely parents on Friday morning and then early lunchtime we will drop the kids off to them. This is a win:win situation, the grandparents and our kids get to enjoy some alone time and I suspect they will go out for food, take the dog for a long walk, play in the park, stay up late and be totally spoiled. Dh and I on the other hand will head off just about ten miles up the road to Camberley for a light lunch and maybe a cosy afternoon in the cinema and then we will head straight to the Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel to check in. I was not sure what to expect from the hotel but I see they have a whole range of short videos that I can watch to really see what the hotel is like. I'm even more excited after viewing them.

If I wasn’t dying to use the beautiful pool and sauna, followed by an hours massage I’d be sitting in the comfortable lounge having a cream tea. I can’t wait for this bit of pampering, my last massage was August last year and it really helped to calm me and relax my tense body. My aches and pains are like those of someone 30 years older than me so I am going to enjoy this so much. I mean, just look at that pool -

After a couple of hours relaxing I’ll head back to the room for an invigorating shower and then indulge myself by getting ready without any little people shouting ‘Mum, he hit me’ or ‘Mum, can I have…..?’. It is a luxury that only busy parents can understand, being able to shower and pamper yourself alone. I can do my nails, curl my hair and take care with my make-up as I get ready for my date night with my gorgeous husband.

Come 7.30pm we will head down for our dinner and be treated to a gourmet meal in the two rosette awarded Linden restaurant. I’ve been checking out the sample menu on the website and if it is available here is my pick of what I’ll be having –

Avocado and Greenland Prawn Tian
Pressed Slow Cooked Outdoor Reared Pork Shoulder with red cabbage, green beans and apple sauce
Vanilla Creme Brulee with a Shortbread Biscuit

I think all that combined with a few glasses of rose will really ensure that we have a fab night. We can then sit in the lounge bar and chat to our hearts content as we enjoy a nightcap before retiring to our super comfy bed knowing that no child will crawl in between us that night – bliss!

After a lie-in and let’s be honest, as a parent anything after about 7am is a lie-in we can head downstairs for a well stocked continental buffet and full English breakfast and then store our luggage whilst we go and explore the local area. I think I trip over to Windsor might be in order if the weather holds out for us.

I'm on count down now, just one week until we are there.....

Disclosure: I am being offered one nights accommodation to review this hotel honestly. Once we have stayed I'll write up my review and post it here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

19 years ago today...

A guy that I was not that keen on picked me up from a very wet pier that I had just fallen over on.

He then saved me from dancing with a very creepy guy at the nightclub on the pier.

We had our first kiss that night and the rest as they say is history.......

Now here we are 19 years later with three small people to call us Mum and Dad and a life very different to the one we might have imagined all those years ago. I'm happy where we are and what we are doing and I'm happy to be with you.

Love you babe xx

I thought it might be fun to track through the years of photos of the two of us and see how we have changed.

1995 - on holiday

Christmas Party - 1996

1998 - on holiday

1999 - At a party

Our wedding - 2002

2006 - End of year ball

2008 - Family wedding, girls aged 1.5 years and JJ was 5 years

2010 - Another family wedding

2012 - My birthday

Christmas eve - 2013. Very blurry but I love the happy faces!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

Time as a couple #R2BC (Week 42, year 3)

It has been yet another good week, I am so lucky to have a Mum and Dad who will come and look after our kids so that dh and I can go away and have some time together. My children adore their grandparents and they had a ball and did not miss us one bit - McDonalds, walks on the beach, playing with the dog and snuggles with grandparents means they had a super time.

Happy with their Grandparents in the summer

I think it is so important to make sure you have some quality time with your other half every so often. Dh and I have not been away together as a couple for at least 2 years and we needed this break. We are lucky to get some nights out and have even stayed local to my parents for an evening out but actually getting away and having 72 hours is a real treat.

So we set off Friday lunchtime and we got up to loads over the next three days - we went to the cinema in the afternoon, had a pub lunch, swam in a beautiful spa pool, snuggled on the bed, walked Richmond Park for hours, got charged at by a stag (I kid you not!), had a cream tea to calm ourselves, went out for three gorgeous dinners, ate three decadent English breakfasts, stayed at three different places, went to Church twice and we chatted and chatted and chatted until we had no more to chat about.

I loved it and I love you Adam. xx

What has made you cheerful or grateful this week?

It could be something massive or it might just be the everyday simple things that happen. If you are new to Reasons to be Cheerful then take a look at the background to this linky and my rational for starting it 3 years ago. 

Write a post and link it up, no rules, just as long as you have written about something which is adding a smile to your face or rocking your world then I’m happy. Then link up the post, add in the blog hop code to your post if you fancy and then people can go from post to post nice and easily. 

Wishing you a fabulous week ahead, Mich x




<center> <a href="http://www.mummyfromtheheart.com/search/label/reasons%20to%20be%20cheerful"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

Reasons to be Cheerful (week 41, year 3)

Last week was all about JJ and this week is all about me, a truly selfish reasons to be cheerful post. Short and to the point!

I realise this last one is the most shocking quality and I look like I'm wearing an eye patch but I could not resist. This is dh and I last Saturday night as we got on the floor for the last barn dance of the night. Look at his face - so happy!

What has made you cheerful or grateful this week?

It could be something massive or it might just be the everyday simple things that happen. If you are new to Reasons to be Cheerful then take a look at the background to this linky and my rational for starting it 3 years ago. 

Write a post and link it up, no rules, just as long as you have written about something which is adding a smile to your face or rocking your world then I’m happy. Then link up the post, add in the blog hop code to your post if you fancy and then people can go from post to post nice and easily. 

Visit a few other people and leave a comment and I pray they will come do the same for you. I will certainly be visiting some if not all those linked up, we'll just see how busy I am on my long 4 day weekend away - yippie!

Wishing you a blessed week ahead, Mich x

<center> <a href="http://www.mummyfromtheheart.com/search/label/reasons%20to%20be%20cheerful"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

Reasons to be Cheerful - short and simple (week 34, year 3)

Hello and happy Thursday,

I hope life is going well for you.  If you are in the throes of the school summer holidays then I pray they have been as stress free as possible. Having the kids every day for six weeks or more sure is hard work! This is my first real insight to that as normally I'm a part-time working mum and I still get some respite at work. This year of course that has all changed and I know it is a blessing and I'm very lucky but it takes a bit of getting used to.

I'm going to the short and simple approach to my #R2BC this week, here they are -

1.  We are going on holiday on Monday.  We are heading to the New Forest to stay in a lodge at Shorefield Country Park and we get to try out the spa and restaurant as part of our review. I love being a blogger, it is so awesome of be able to do amazing things together as a family that we would never be able to afford otherwise. The big highlights for me will be five whole days with dh (who it feels like we have not seen properly for weeks) and getting to swim with the kids every day.

2.  Amazing neighbours and living in community. It feels like a big weight off my mind to know we can go away Monday and I can shout it from the rooftops. If you are a burglar and you know where I live it does not matter as you'll know I live as part of a community now and we have the most amazing neighbours in and out of our house when we are not here.

3.  This weekend we have 2000 odd Christians coming on site for a Church weekend and we get to join in with their fun. The kids are already signed up for the fun children's groups and  I can either opt to have 3 hours a day to myself or go to one of their sessions.

4.  Spending one-on-one time with Miss M today. It's funny how things end up, none of the kids wanted to come out to the shops with me today as they all felt they had better options but it turned out Miss M was to come and we had a lovely time. Just two hours together chatting and shopping and as a bonus we found the most divine deli and coffee shop.

The biggest babychinno ever!

Now it is over to you - what is making you cheerful and grateful this week?

If you are new here, welcome.  Do go and have a read about why I started Reasons to be Cheerful and what I feel the key to happiness is. This is a very inclusive linky, it does not come with lots of rules. I just ask for common courtesy, write your post and link it up, then comment and say hi to a couple of other linked up bloggers. They should hopefully come and visit you too and we are all happy - comment love shared all round. Just a word to say I probably won't get to comment round all this week due to my holiday!

#R2BC Blogger of the Week
This weeks shout out goes to Kate who blogs at Kate on Thin Ice and the Naked Mum blog. She was one of the first bloggers to join in with this linkey and has probably been the most faithful over time. She has a few weeks off and then pings back and always has the longest lists of gratitude I have seen. It is fabulous that she works so hard to be cheerful, despite what might be going on in life for her. Having met Kate in real life a few times now I know her to be a warm, friendly and sincere lady..... go say hi!

Have a fabulous week ahead, catch you soon.  Be blessed, Mich x

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!