Project 365- 17-23 February

What a week! I’ve tried to soak up every moment because as of Sunday 24 February, I’m leaving the family behind to head off on a giant blogging adventure. I’m hitting the High Seas, specifically, the Caribbean. 5 delightful bloggers and me…we’re going to be putting the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas ship through its paces to see just how family-friendly it is. I’ll be bringing you photos and reports, hopefully from the ship and once we get home. Please don’t hate me! However, before I set sail, I’ll share our adventures on dry land from this past week.

Sunday 17 February: The sun was glorious on Sunday, fooling us into a false hope for Spring which was rapidly dashed later in the week. However we took full advantage of the warm rays, strapped on our walking boots and went for a march around our village. We even found a few bunches of snowdrops in various locations around the village. Lovely! After our walk we popped over to Nanny & Grandad’s where the kids practiced their bike riding and I practiced dreaming about living in the country.

Monday 18 February: The sun was still shining on Monday and I began to have grand designs for our garden. Sam loves being outside but I need him to be safe and contained. After months of winter, our garden needs work. It’s wet and muddy but it has potential. I want to make it a more functional place where Sam and I can work and play together. I started poking around, moving a few things and dusting off the swings. Ella and Sam enjoyed swinging and jumping on the trampoline together after school. It was cold but they were happy so that’s all that matters.

Tuesday 19 February: Grateful for a low-key day, Sam and I enjoyed time together at home and then took Ella to swimming lessons in the evening. We have decided to stop Ella’s gymnastics practice for now and keep her in swimming and go back to ballet for a while. She can put off her Olympic training preparation for a little while longer.

Wednesday 20 February: I got to be a Social Media professional on Wednesday as I spent the day working with Kiddicare to produce their first three Google+ Hangouts. The Hangouts went really well and it felt good to use my brain and not-useless social media experience. Sam spent the morning and early afternoon with Nanny & Grandad and was a very happy boy indeed.

Thursday 21 February: Sam and I spent part of the morning visiting our good friend Emma and her scrumptious 4 week old daughter Daisy. Sam was smitten to say the least. He wasn’t quite so keen, however, when I was holdind Daisy! I resumed my volunteering at Ella’s school with my usual Thursday afternoon visit. I really love this opportunity to help out in Ella’s class. It does wear me out though!

Friday 22 February: It was time to face reality and get my #royalmums Cruise shopping done on Friday morning. With Sam as my shopping companion, I managed to scoop up a few deals and even scored some new sunglasses. This was the first day where I let myself get excited! The guilt also started to burble to the surface though too. I know it’s good for me and all of us really, for me to have a holiday but it will be hard.

Saturday 23 February: Cruise prep and packing was the order of this day. That and extra snuggles. I’m really excited about this opportunity and I know that Mark will have a really good week with the kids. I just worry…it’s what I do best. So, I’ll be reporting as much as possible and hopefully not boring the pants off of you. Follow my #royalmums adventures here, on Facebook and Twitter (@cafebebe, #royalmums) as well as Instagram. A bientot!