Our Weekend Happy #2

Week 2 of documenting our weekends and I'm loving it.

It's reminded me to take out my camera and capture some very ordinary but lovely moments, it's reminded me that the weekends are important for family time and having a break from the hustle and bustle and it's reminded me that we don't have to do anything extravagant at the weekends to have a nice time. 

Last weekend saw us get a blanket of snow, not for long mind but throwing snowballs and chasing each other around the garden was definitely the highlight of the weekend for Luke. 

On Sunday we actually had 4 seasons in one day! It was sunny, snowing, raining, windy, cloudy and then a shower of hailstones! We'd no sooner have our jackets on to go out in the snow and the sun would either melt it away again or the rain would start. Not to worry though we did manage to get out in the snow and I got some lovely pictures of Luke enjoying his first proper snow experience.

As you can see he was absolutely thrilled to be out and about and chasing his Mum and Grandad with snowballs! 

The garden looked like something off a Christmas card for the short while the snow hung around. 

Car shopping was on the agenda last weekend as my car is hanging on by a thread at this point. I have found my perfect car and I'm hopeful we'll have it in the next few weeks, a few financial aspects have to be looked at first as it will be a big investment but I'm excited at the thought of having something that runs smoothly for a change. 

After car shopping we went out for lunch and despite it being absolutely freezing, it wasn't enough to deter Luke from getting his ice cream after lunch!

We had other plans to travel to commemoration ceremony at the weekend but due to the bad weather we couldn't so we spent the rest of our weekend visiting friends, doing a clean up around the house and lots of puzzles. We even managed a lie in on Sunday which was much needed, I really need to start going to bed earlier again during the week, it's been so late recently and I'm exhausted.

Overall it was a lovely weekend, we had a lot of time with the 3 of us which was is rare but lovely.

Linking up with Mummascribbles and Mrs H's Favourite Things for the #ourweekendhappy linky. 

Our Weekend Happy

I've found the perfect linky to help me remember to make the most of the weekends and to document it!
We are linking up with Mumma Scribbles and Mrs H's Favourite Things in their Our Weekend Happy linky, documenting your happy moments from the weekend gone by. 

We had such a lovely weekend last week, it was the first one in ages where I didn't have to be anywhere that took me away from home and from Luke. Besides a physio appointment for 45mins, I was free to do as we pleased with my little boy. The OH was around for a little bit of the weekend but he works late nights, sometimes right through until the next morning so he needed to catch up on some sleep.

We got a trip to the woods in on Saturday with one of my good friends and her daughter and niece. It was freezing cold and windy but we braved it, wrapped up warm and let the kids run around and tire themselves out and it reminded me that I need to purchase a pair of wellies though because it was quite muddy and my footwear was not suitable. It blew away some of the cobwebs of working all week and being stuck inside due to the exceptional cold we faced last week. L had also been hit with a cold and cough so he was delighted to out and about running around.

It was movie night for him then on Saturday night as we do every week, tucked up in his cosy pjs and in our bed, he usually lasts for most of the movie but he was asleep 10mins in, the fresh air knocked him out! I love those movie nights, one of us usually tucks in beside him for a little while too. 

This weekend was exceptional in the fact that 2 of my good friends and I actually manged to arrange a day out with the smallies and stick to it! We took our broods to see Coco in the cinema that morning, the OH only got in from work at 8am so it gave him a chance to catch up on some rest but they were so excited to be heading there together and getting their popcorn and treats. It was a lovely film, maybe went over L's head a bit but everytime his friend Aoibhinn laughed, he did too, it was very cute.

We weren't long home from that when we went and met up with another friend of mine and her 2 kiddies, L is great friends with them, a brother and sister and they had a great time running around the Fairy woods that's near us and I had a catch up chat with my friend.

Of course we paid a visit to my parents house on both days of the weekend, we call there every weekend, if only for half an hour or so, usually longer though. 

It was a full on weekend but full on with lovely things and equally lovely people. L and I had some much needed quality time together too, working full time Monday - Friday can take it's toll so I try my best to make the weekends count for us and mostly L to make up for the time I miss out on during the week. 

Hopefully this weekend will be just a lovely.

A Grandparents Love

Grandparents - what we would do without them?!

I know we'd be lost without Luke's grandparents, my Mum and Dad.

Luke was the long awaited grandson, after 3 granddaughters from my sister, a boy was needed in the mix. Not long after I found out I was pregnant I knew it was a boy, we didn't find out but I just knew and so did my Mum, she had the "vibrations" she said. 

His name was influenced by his Grandad.

They adore him and he knows this and he loves it. 

My Mum is Nanny / childminder. While the OH and I go out to work and college she looks after him, Monday - Thursday for us, collects him from preschool at 12.30pm until 6pm. They also help mind him outside of these days too in case we have other appointments to attend. 

He has lunch with his Nan and dinner with his Grandad when he comes in from work. He likes it if his Grandad gets home from work before he leaves so that they can mess around for a while. 

He usually stays overnight with them one night a week, this all started in his first year of preschool when he had Wednesdays off and my Mum thought that rather than waking him early to drop him out to her on our way that he could just stay overnight and have a lie in the next morning - see she spoils him that way.

My nieces are all teenagers now so they aren't around their grandparents as much so Luke has their undivided attention most of the time, as you can see in the picture below.

He has his own room in their house, filled with his clothes, toys, books and his own super soft blanket that he got off his Nan (it was supposed to be hers but he took over ownership!) which he uses for when he's "chillin' out" in their house. 

He has his own apron in the kitchen so that he can wear it when helping my Mum with cooking or baking - peeling vegetables (she peels and chops and he outs them in the pan) or baking cakes. They spend ages playing Jenga or Playdoh. He helps her out around the house. His favourite thing to do with his Nan is the weeding in the garden, in the Spring / Summer they are always out there and filling up the bird feeders - he knows what seeds or nuts go in each container. Nanny always lets him play in the yard for ages after preschool is finished. He has different bedtime routine with his Nan than he does with us - I tried to replicate her routine one time but he firmly told me that "No that's only for my Nanny's house". Of course he always goes to bed without any hassle for her and always sleeps all night, ever since he was small - he did not and does not do this at home!

He has his own tools in his Grandads shed and a toy lawnmower that he follows him around the garden with when he's cutting the grass. He likes to wear sleeveless jackets when he's "working" in the garden, just like his Grandad. They go for walks to see the cows or the neighbours horse, they could be at home one minute and then gone the next for ages exploring the countryside. He loves to "fight" his Grandad - "You try push me over Grandad" and so ensues a wrestling match on the new couches that my mother pleads with them not to jump or bounce on, it falls on deaf ears, these 2 are like 2 kids when they are together, always messing around. He loves it when his Grandad comes to visit him at our house too, "Will you come to my house so I can show you all my new toys?".

They teach him things that he would never learn anywhere else and in a way that only grandparents can. I often hear "That's not the way my Nanny does it" if I'm doing something a different way to her. He knows they adore him but he also knows that they won't tolerate any bad behaviour and they have boundaries, even at this young age, he respects them. 

He missed his Nan a huge amount in December when she went away for a few days, they have a routine you see and he misses it and misses her when it's changed up for whatever reason. 

He's a lease of life for them that keeps them young and makes them smile, he entertains them with his random comments and statements. 

While it was never my intention to rely so heavily on my parents to help us out with looking after him while we hold down 3 jobs and full time college amongst running a house and keeping up with life between us, there's no one I'd rather him spend all this time with than his Grandparents and we will be forever grateful for all their help and the relationship they have with our son, their Grandson.