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22Dec
A Covid-Cursed Christmas

While we have it better than most, being in tier two, not locked down alone in London, or self isolating and suffering with the wretched virus, its safe to say this has and will be a Christmas to remember.

Rewind six weeks or so, My Mum (You may know her as Nannyofmunchkin when she writes on here) had the perfect rule of six plan. We would see everyone in slots, and we would host Munchkin’s Auntie and Uncle (my Sister and my Bil (brother in law). It was the perfect, covid-guideline friendly plan.

Then came the three household plan. This changed it to a traditional Christmas at Nanny’s but without seeing my wife’s side of the family. This was tough but accepted.

We were just getting used to that idea when tier four struck. We are now down to just five: my sister and her hubby, me, Munchkin and Natalie. The first Christmas I won’t see my Mum, Nan, or Natalie’s family, and Munchkin won’t see either Nan or Grandad or Great Nan. Let’s hope Zoom/Teams/Skype hold out!

So it’ll be different this year. I’m currently desperately trying to find my Christmas spirit again. But with Munchkin, I’m sure it’ll be magical as always. Different, but still a wonderful Christmas.

Even though now, just 3 days away, I’m expecting further changes to our plans….

Stay safe this Christmas, and as ever, my inbox is open if you need a chat or a cute festive Munchkin photo.

Sending our love and ‘big cuddles’ to everyone struggling this Christmas.

Thanks for reading,

Continue reading…
17Jun
Celebrating Largely Small during Lockdown with a Lockdown Birthday

If you follow me or know me its no surprise I’ve hit the big 3 – 0 and wouldn’t fancy a lockdown birthday. While I had always said I didn’t want something big for it I deep down did want to get drunk with my family and my friends on a dancefloor to ‘All of the Lights’. So actually I’d consider that I did want something rather big.

However, its lockdown, so none of that was possible of course. I was, however, fortunate at least that the lockdown had entered a new stage and small groups could congregate outside if they stayed 2 metres apart. But that still didn’t allow my secret dream of a drunken dance party.

So, I was unsure what was going to happen, especially as it was all kept hush. Natalie merely told me that there would be surprises throughout the weekend.

The surprises started Friday (with my birthday being on the Sunday) when a cake arrived. In particular, this was a Millie’s cookie cake which I had recently has a secret lockdown pining for). How did she know?

The surprises and activities then continued with cards handed to me throughout the weekend. We did some cake baking with Munchkin, I had a lovely back massage, we had a film night with prosecco and snacks, I had a fry up and a BBQ, there were lots of Munchkin snuggles and more…

On my actual birthday we went to my Nans. It was pouring on and off so was an ideal location as she had an outdoor car port. We arrived with our mats and toys for Munchkin, and sat on the floor between my family members on either side.

My sister had put together a playlist of my life, they collected a takeaway afternoon tea, we had a good natter and laughed at Munchkin’s booty dance to ‘Who let the dogs out’. Meanwhile we had gin prosecco (this is deadly). The visit was short, but it was perfect. I got to see my closest family, have some laughs, enjoy good food and music and they got to see Munchkin’s latest developments 😊.

I wouldn’t change a thing in the whole weekend, given the circumstances we are under. At least I got to see my family and get spoilt rotten, have an amazing weekend of surprises, get a little tipsy (though admittedly at home with just Natalie), and have a 30th to remember.

So while lockdown is still in force, it is possible to make these hard times pleasant. I can honestly say I had a brilliant birthday. Huge thanks to everyone involved.

Although… I do still want that drunk dance with all my family and friends when its all over.

Thanks for reading,
3May
Avoiding the Lockdown Lows

I recently wrote a post about staying sane with a one year old (you can read that here). I read it back and realised that while that was great for how to stay happy with all the dirty nappies and early mornings, it didn’t really focus on me, the adult.

So here five ways I have avoided the lockdown lows myself.

1. Streaming (what the internet was born for)

Let’s not forget that other streaming services do exist :).

Disney plus came into exisitence bang on the right time, coinciding with the start of lockdown, saving us from boredom by letting us catch up on the latest releases we had missed but also reminincing with the golden oldies.

Other streaming services do exist however, so its important to mention while not dreaming about living at DisneyWorld, we’ve also been dying to save the big cats watching ‘Tiger King’, been is utter disbelief with ‘Suriving R Kelly’, and beyond furious with ‘The Trials of Gabriel Fenandez’.

2. Getting out

We have used our daily exercise hour to get some fresh air and vitamin D, whilst also giving Munchkin a change of scenery. This gives some goodness for all three of us.

  • We walk….
  • We trike…

3. Project house

Being furloughed has been a great kick to get all the house jobs done.

I finally got around to finish filling some holes in the house and kick started the garden ‘renovation’. Me and Natalie have no real garden experience yet we’ve (somehow managed to) put up a fence post and two panels and most recently prepared the soil by hand and laid some turf (we bought our house with a low-maintainence fully-slabbed child-unfriendly garden).

4. Had some ‘me time’

I thought ‘me time’ would come in the form of the xbox one, but then I discovered that you can play board games online. This was a revalation.

So nap times and the odd evening has become virtual board game times with my work crew, university mates and my Mum, Sister and Wife.

Boardgamearena with Carcassonne, Sushi Go and Can’t stop.

For this we have been using boardgamearena (Here’s the link), which for private play, requires one premium member at only £22.80 for the whole year or you can play other players worldwide for free.

5. Appreciation

I think what has really kept me chirpy is spending some time thinking about and appreciating the benefits of lockdown.

Whether that be being a key worker (woo to all of you) and feeling and seeing the value of your continued sacrifice, having reduced work hours (woo!), or working-from-home commitments (so you can do a day’s work in your PJ’s), or for me, spending time seeing the development of my Munchkin.

I hope you are all staying sane and safe in lockdown.

Thanks for reading,

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25Mar
Covid-19 isolation and Staying Sane with a One Year Old.

The change to Covid-19 isolation

When we came to self-isolate we knew this would be hard on Munchkin. His usual week changed suddenly. One moment it was nursery for three days and each Nanny covering one day each. At weekends we would see friends, or his Grandparents, Great Grandparents or his Auntie and Uncle. There would be a weekly swimming lesson and a weekly sensory and play group and then suddenly it all changes and you don’t know why.

It changes to just one day at nursery. But not normal nursery. The first day since the schools closed we arrived to just us in the car park and only two members of staff inside. Then for the rest, he just at home with us. Six days per week of just Mummy, or Mummy and Daddy, and they can’t really tell you why it changed little one….

covid-19 isolation

So what is important…

Routine. We decide for Munchkin’s, and our, sanity to create a new routine. One to keep things fresh and engaging but also to still differentiate between weekend and weekdays. So we made sure meal and snack times and types were set to similar to nursery times, and we would have slots for sensory play, reading time, play time and a walk.

And there is the next one, walks. Using the one time to get out of the house to go for a long walk. I realised the importance of getting out the house every day during SPL (shared parental leave) and know what it can do for your well being. Further to that, just getting some regular fresh air, outside those four walls in the garden, does a world of good.

Finally, its sharing the workload; the nappies and changes; the routine and the household normalities like the dinner and cleaning. Though I am sure most mothers will agree, sharing the workload should happen regardless of whether there is a pandemic or not!

I hope you stay sane during your self-isolation everyone.

Thanks for reading,

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