7QT - Sociable Seven

1. After an enjoyable evening gab-fest last Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday, I had to avoid running over an escaped calf on the road home and then chatted to my folks (who live next door) for a half-hour before finally wading home about half one. To this semi-hermit mama that was the latest night I'd had in eight months.

2. Sunday morning came far too quickly but I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with the boy before Sunday school (he was much braver this week and even answered some of questions) and church (our assistant minister played a fabulous clip about marriage). Coffee and biscuits after church was plenty sociable and I was able to help a friend who's a little newer to the church find some teenage babysitters to help her out.

3. In fact we had a sociable week which continued on Monday with some very last minute packing before travelling to Enniskillen (where I was born), for a couple of nights away. We would have been away to a sunny Spanish isle if this forgetful mama could locate her passport (oops). We called en route with a couple whose wedding we attended with a then eight-month-old James, mostly let's be honest to see their adorable newborn Anna (born on James' third birthday). She was such a cutie and J asked to hold her! Oh the adorableness, he so wants a little sister, or brother - he's not that fussy!

The hotel was lovely and the special offer we'd taken up of a half-price executive suite was fancy! We had a six-foot bed in a huge bedroom and a huge living room with a balcony accessible from both rooms with a great view over the main road. Okay so not a great view, unless you're three and obsessed by anything with wheels, in which case seeing a transporter with a land rover on it was the highlight of the trip! J had a travel cot for a bed with a sheet draped around the sides for the whole private sleep experience. As a bonus, the breakfasts were better than advertised with porridge (James), bacon and sausage baps (Daddy) and bacon sandwiches (Mama) to keep everyone happy.

4. Tuesday saw us catch up with an old Christian Endeavour bud of Hubs' and she spoiled J rotten with colouring pencils and books, a craft pack and cardboard-build-your-own-farm set. Alas rotten is also how I would describe his behaviour and my mood on Tuesday so ending the day with tea at a local pub (courtesy of my folks) lifted everyone's spirits.

5. Wednesday allowed us a visit to my ninety-year-old and thriving Nanna. She is still living alone in her own home and sharp as a tack. She delights in her great-grandbabies and it was lovely to watch her and James interact.

We made it home through the snow and my mama treated us to tea once again as we joined her and Daddy for the afternoon. Then this mama continued her surprisingly-busy-of-late social life with craft night at a friend's, during which I managed to salvage a pair of overly damaged shorts for J (a freebie along with a shirt I purchased at a charity shop) while being served homemade chocolate cake - yum! My friend then took in J's hi-vis jacket for me with her sewing machine since I'd sewed it roughly before Christmas but had taken it in too much for wearing over coats). Thanks Jy!

6. Thursday began with snowman building (Mo-vy, as named by James) closely followed by outfit changes and hot chocolate. Snow is a rare happening here in Northern Ireland so - yay!

Thursday was also a day of praying for/worrying about Hubs as he got his steroid injection in his arm to hopefully sort out the inflammation, pain and pins and needles and allow him back to work. It's feeling a bit better thank the Lord but only time will tell.

7. Friday saw us host Hubs' mum's cousin and her husband along with plenty of family tree talk; closely followed by a visit from a long-time friend of Hubs' who works as a minister in Donegal (Ireland) then a lazy tea (read: I threw everything in a pot and it turned out edible - hurrah) before I attended my best friend's baby shower (silly games, lots of giggles, advice and hugs as she looks toward a premature induction for baby's sake). Home about midnight so today (Saturday) is very lazy (pizza tea) and this the week ahead looks positively empty of plans (only Sunday school, church, gymnastics class and toddler group).

I'll leave you with a little stop and smell the roses (and thank God for them) poem:

Stop for a Moment by David Waddell

With human minds we emotionally bind ourselves to things we cannot see.
Hopelessly setting a course that will deprive us of the strings of peace that were given to you and me.

We often pass up rainbows, a spring shower, a sunset, or even just a smile.
Yet in the name of prosperity and growth we’ll go the extra mile.

God gave us the ability to experience the delicate sides of this earth.
But often we don’t allow ourselves to fully appreciate what it’s worth.

Have you ever whistled with a songbird, been touched by a breeze, or smelt the seasons in the air?
Or did you just consider them daily problems and not ever really care?

Have you ever had a falling leaf placed gently at your feet?
Carried by a loving wind just for you to meet.

Did you let it say good morning friend, or kick it to the side?
Thinking that you’re late for work or you’ll never catch your ride.

During a crowded traffic jam have you ever looked up high?
To see how God directs the clouds as they go flying through the sky.

What was your thought today as you tumbled out of bed?
“Thank you Lord for this day” or “Man do I feel dead”.

You see it’s up to us to find these things as we’re travelling down life’s road.
Because God sends these gifts to cross our paths and relieve our heavy load.

Now head back to Kelly @ This Ain't The Lyceum for more quick takes. (89)

7QT - Beating up the Blahs

Here's seven quick takes for the last couple of days (read: as far back as I can remember):

1. I have a serious case of the blahs. I don't want to do anything, go anywhere, see anyone - blahs. Fortunately I have an aversion to cancelling prior plans so the last couple of days have forced me to socialise.

2. This morning, getting my behind out of the house (with Hubs leading the charge) to take our little boy to the church parent and toddler group was a definite lift. The chatting and catching up with the other mums (dads, grandparents, childminders and helpers), along with a very yummy iced fruit cake was lovely and very needed.

3. With minimal prep (read: a quick bathroom clean), hosting a couple for supper this evening - a real chat-through-every-topic-chilled-out night and a great distraction from the blahs.

4. Woohoo! Actually remembering to send birthday greetings to my niece a whole day early to compensate for the major time difference (Northern Ireland to Australia). Hooray for my absentee brain putting in a rare visit.

5. Sharing a teary and bonding moment with another couple of mums as we discussed recent stillbirths and Strep B horror stories and being made all the more conscious of the blessings we three had received in our four (soon-to-be five children).

6. Enjoying an entire conversation with another mummy friend at lunch with our combined three kids after gymnastics yesterday.

7. Plans for a girls' glamorous lunch for tomorrow being shelved in favour of a DVD/gossip night in our comfiest clobber - bliss and much more soothing to this soul.

Here's to a week ahead when the blahs will hopefully lift - in the meantime swing back to Kelly @ This Ain't The Lyceum for the ultimate arms workout. P.S. Kelly - go you for educating your kids now about abortion and the value of each and every life! (76)

Extract of 99 Words

"Resilience can only be attained by coming through adversity.

To truly get over something, you have to go through it - but when we do, we can be better human beings for it. More understanding, more compassionate, more insightful - a life lived with more purpose.

Embracing or understanding mental or physical pain can bring us closer to our authentic selves. From there we can recycle that experience into helping others which in turn nurtures our soul.

For a better world - strive to live authentically, flex the gifts you have been given, live with love and laugh wherever possible."

Matthew Johnstone

From the book 99 Words by Liz Gray, which is sub-titled: "You have breath for no more than 99 words. What would they be?"

Mantras for Mums #1

We all have them, the so-called "mom-isms," those lines you hear yourself saying over and over and over again. I'll add to this series as and when I realise what my own mantras are or when I come across particularly clever ones.

Here's my (sadly non-rhyming) top repetition to encourage good manners in greeting people. Although my little man is tremendously social and outgoing, like all of us he has off-days and new venues or unfamiliar faces can set off bouts of shyness. If he's feeling shy or just isn't in the mood for a full-blown conversation with someone, I still insist on him saying "hello." He can say it while peeking out from behind my knees or with his head barely lifted from my shoulder, and thereafter keep schtum* with me as his fiercest advocate, but a cheery "hello" is a must in our family.

"You're allowed to be shy,

but you're not allowed

to be rude."

Armour Academy

I admit I'll try for a "bye" as well as this is far easier for children since they know the exposure to the new venue/person is at an end and our sunny little mister usually adds a smile to his farewell and well they're just precious so any perceived rudeness is usually abated and everyone leaves the encounter happy.

*say nothing (surprisingly a Bristish saying of German derivation and not Yiddish as I'd assumed)

7QT - "Date Night Recipe"

In honour of a an extremely rare event, here are seven quick takes of our frugal-ish date "night" plans for tonight. Thank you Granny and Granda for a couple of hours of not-talking-to-each-other-staring-at-a-screen-romance!

1. Fill a zip-lock style bag with copious amounts of junk food gleaned from your son's Christmas sweets and a recent hormone-inspired grocery shop. Add a bottle of tap-water.

2. Pack up a box of leftovers from last night's dinner and some fresh-cut peppers, along with several puzzles and toy cars.

3. Take two doting grandparents and deliver leftovers, toys and a rambunctious three-year-old to their house.

4. Do not give them the junk-food!

5. Drive to the cinema to catch the afternoon (read: cheaper) showing of "Night at the Museum: we've filmed this one in London"

6. Eat junk food, drink tap water and feel a little smug that you didn't have to sell a kidney in order to enjoy a snack at the movies.

7. Collect munchkin and drive home in time for his bedtime. Continue date with a later leftovers/cereal dinner and the newer BBC version of G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown DVDs. Bliss.

Now head back to This Ain't The Lyceum for Kelly's seven quick takes before the sick hits the floor. (31)

Dress for Success

"I think when you get dressed in the morning, sometimes you're really making a decision about your behaviour for the day."   

Demetri Martin

Struggling

"She struggled. She  found life a bit  of an  obstacle-course." 

Tubby Baker 

Jimmy "Tubby" Baker (as played by Michael Ball) speaking about his mother in Victoria Woods' Christmas 2014 TV musical "That Day We Sang."