Catch up! What have I been up to? June 2022

Well hello there dear! I haven’t created a new post for a little while so thought I’d catch you lot up with what I’ve been up to. I haven’t had much time for myself lately hence the lack of content from me but life is like that sometime. We all have busy periods – baby or no baby. So let’s get to it – where have I been?

Center Parcs

At the beginning of May, myself, Andy, Holly, and my immediate family all went to Center Parcs at Whinfell Forest. We went Monday to Friday but if you’ve been to Center Parcs you’ll know you can’t get in to your cabin until late in the afternoon the day you arrive and have to vacate by 10am on leaving day so it’s really 3 and a half days. Anyway we all stayed in the same lodge and had a lovely little time. My Mam brought a stick on bird feeder and some nuts to feed the birds at our lodge and I would really recommend this as we had loads of birds and squirrels come to our patio doors. We took some food with us taking turns to make the tea. We ate out during the day and went swimming most days. Holly took a little while to warm up to the swimming pool – I think it can be a bit much for babies in the tropical swimming area – it’s hot, loud, full of people and the only water Holly is used to is the bath, most babies haven’t experienced this situation before so it can be overwhelming. She ended up really liking the baby/children’s areas of the pool and was glued to people watching as she’s so nosey. It was cute to see her enjoying herself with my family too. It was a lovely holiday but we barely got any sleep as Holly wouldn’t sleep in the cot so the three of us were squished into a double bed for four nights. It was tiring but luckily we had my family to help out during the day.

At Home

Most of the time I’m at home working or looking after Holly and trying to do bits of housework and washing (oh the washing) when I can. Honestly, I haven’t really recovered from the tiredness from Center Parcs as like I said, we barely got any sleep then and once we were home, Holly got a water infection so after a trip to A&E with sky high temperatures, that meant even more sleepless nights. Then she got a tummy bug and started walking (which can trigger sleep regressions) so being honest, I’ve just been a zombie since my last post. I can barely function on some days when we’ve had a few bad nights in a row and my brain is so muddled I just don’t know what to do first and how to get through the day.

They say that everything that babies do is a phase but it seems like we just keep getting bad sleep phases lately. I feel like all I talk about is bloody sleep but it’s a massive part of our human lives, we need it to repair and rest our bodies so when you don’t get the thing your body needs you feel pretty crumby and shit.

Booking Disneyland Paris!

We’ve finally booked Disneyland Paris for September this year! I’m so excited but as with everything post-pandemic, any upcoming holiday feels like it might not happen so once we get to September I’ll be really bouncing with joy. Can’t wait. We booked our hotel and tickets direct with Disney through the Irish website and saved ourselves a decent wedge of money – we booked a character breakfast and the magic shuttle for our transfers from and to the airport. We booked our flights separately through Skyscanner – for anyone who has been to Disneyland Paris before, you used to be able to book flights or the Eurostar through the Disney website but there is no option for this now. We don’t have a meal plan as we’re just going to go with the flow and figure it out when we are there. I’m not sure what Holly will prefer to eat by then so we’re just going to see what’s available at the time and make it work.

We’re staying in Hotel Cheyenne and after much deliberation, chose to stay in a Disney hotel as they are easy to get to via the free shuttles but more importantly, if the buses are busy we can also walk to and from the parks easily. I’m not sure if you can walk to the partner hotels due to the roads so this seemed like the best option when we have a little one to think of as I’ve experienced the shuttle buses post fireworks/park closing time and they ain’t pretty.

Anything else?

I haven’t done too much else but it’s worth mentioning that I’m focusing on self care instead of personal development at the minute. That does not mean I’m lounging about in a spa getting a massage – self care for me means drinking of plenty water and resting when I can. ‘When I can’ tends to be the days I don’t have Holly as I never drink enough or eat well when I’m busy carrying her around and dealing with nappies, meals and tears. I’m making a real effort to take my vitamins and eat better when I have time. I’m trying to clean my face more, put eye cream on and slap on a facemask here and there and even sometimes dressing a tiny bit nicer. “When I can” is my catchphrase these days…anyway, putting on a quick flash of moisturiser after the bath (with Holly of course, don’t be thinking I’m relaxing in bubbles drinking wine) also helps me feel more human.

That’s about it, as I say I’ve just been living in a fog of tiredness and brain fuzz, trying my best to bumble my way through life. I have a bit of guilt prodding me in the back of my brain telling me I should be exercising, getting ALL of the jobs done around the house NOW, socialising more, finishing my book, doing more with YouTube, blah blah BLAH but I’m doing a good job of ignoring this voice. I can’t do everything and if this is also you and you have a little voice giving you jipp for not getting every task ticked off the list then tell that voice to do one and get a cup of tea. You’re doing fine, ignore that voice for now.

I really miss writing but I need a bit of headspace to focus on getting myself pulled together and waiting for Holly to start sleeping better. Look after yourselves guys x