Here come’s the sun…

This week I’ve been:
Reading…Vogue. This was a real treat, courtesy of Little Man for Mother’s Day, complete with with delicious snacks and peace & quiet.
Listening to…Chain Reaction on BBC Radio 4. Tim Vine interviewing Sir Ken Dodd, hilarious silliness!
Eating…Macaroni Cheese & Roasted Squash. Perfect when you have a slight Adult Headache.
Doing…Visiting Croome Court with The Husband & Little Man.

It’s been a pretty great week here at The Uni Mummy HQ. I have survived a second week of Solo-Parenting and have had a fun-filled weekend with The Husband and Little Man!

This week saw the final taught lecture of my 1st year of the course, which if you ask me is NUTS! It’s only just April for goodness sakes! But before you groan and make a comment about the fact that I am a ‘Part-time Student’…the year itself is not over yet. Do not fear Tax Payers, I still have an exam, ‘Skills Week’ and an 8 week Placement before I can hang up my nurse’s uniform and have a break!

The end of the week saw my final assignment for my Mental Health module in the first year, the dreaded ‘Group Presentation’. When we were put into groups a few weeks ago, I was detached from my usual Uni ladies and put with 3 other fellow students who I had barely spoken to since the start of the year. I’ll be honest, I had a little strop. I was sad that I wouldn’t get to have a legitimate, study-filled excuse to lark about with my friends some more. But you know what, change is actually good! The girls I was put with were genuinely lovely, hard-working and as up for a giggle as the ladies I’ve hung out with since Day 1 of the course. And, although we haven’t had our result back yet, I feel really proud of what we achieved together. A particular achievement for me as during my first degree I lied about completing my presentation just to avoid doing it because I was THAT scared. I write often about the confidence this course is giving me and Friday was a perfect example of that!

Of course, a great achievement, requires a great celebration. So my gang of girlies let me rejoin the pack and on Friday, we hit the town, heels and all! I felt a little nervous, would our, frankly hilarious, banter work outside of the safety of the Uni Canteen? Would everyone get on, 3 hours in? Would everyone else mind that if there is music, I will dance…and dance…and dance?! Needless to say, my nerves were unfounded and we had a fantastic night. There were giggles aplenty and I really feel like it helped us become even closer as a group. And the best part of it all? I only had a mild Adult Headache the next day…that’s not to say that the cheesy, carby Mac n Cheese that the Husband cooked didn’t go down a storm. Delicious.

I’m sure it’ll be no surprise that we have been making the most of the gorgeous weather that seems to have blessed our isles this weekend. We have managed to squeeze in two picnics and more sweet treats than I’d care to admit to. Yesterday we visited Croome Court, somewhere that has been recommended to me on more than one occasion. So we packed up a picnic, a blanket and some bubbles and headed out. Over 3.5 hours later, Little Man was very resistant to leave, despite being on his feet nearly the whole time and even after he went flying and got his first matching set of grazed knees! Poor Little Man. Despite the injuries, we really did have a fantastic time and I really recommend it as a day out for families, especially if you can duplicate the beautiful weather we enjoyed! We didn’t visit the house itself but there were lots of bridges to scramble over, a beautiful lake to walk around and a small play park for those who aren’t exhausted enough by the big hill!

Next week is the first full week I have spent with Little Man since Christmas and I’m really looking forward to it. So check back next week and I shall fill you in on all of our Easter Holiday fun!

The Uni Mummy, over&out x

 

 

Silence is golden, unless you write a blog! Sorry!

Sorry for the quiet everyone. I had a couple of tough weeks. It felt like everything was spinning out of control, away from me. It all ended in a big, messy meltdown where I sobbed to an unsuspecting employee of the University who could not have been more calm, caring and compassionate.

I hadn’t realised, but I had been trying to keep a lid on the stress I was experiencing. It’s a bit of an overused analogy but I really was like a swan on the water, going about my daily life ‘coping’ but underneath it all I was crumbling and desperately trying to hold it together. And then I snapped.

Little Man decided he definitely didn’t want to wear his socks or in fact, any of his uniform and ran off like a greyhound around a race track as soon I got within a metre of him with aforementioned uniform. And so I lost it. I shouted, I cried and I begged him to just behave. But when I look back, I realise Little Man wasn’t REALLY the reason for my stress and it wasn’t him I was REALLY cross with.

I had an essay due in the following week, whose conclusion I had been battling with for days and things with the Husband had been tough. This whole living apart thing is a struggle sometimes. We have to fit in to a weekend, everything that your average couple skips over during the week. The things I took for granted, like sharing little daily stories about his work and my lectures and all the boring stuff we have to sort as grown ups like Car Services and when we’re going to squeeze in visits to the extended family. And of course, some nights I would just like to cuddle up on the sofa and not say anything at all. I know that we’re strong enough as a couple to get through this adventure but that doesn’t make it easy!

SO, as there’s not a fat lot The Husband and I can do about living under the same roof, unless someone wants to buys us a house, I decided to try and fix what I can, me! So thanks to my wonderful Uni I have joined a meditation class for free and although I’m only one class in, I feel SO much better. I’m sure part of that is just having my meltdown and recognising I need to spend more time on myself but the meditation definitely helped too.

So I am a week and a half into my month of solo-parenting whilst my lovely parents swan about in sunny Spain and although it’s not been easy, I am trying my very best to at least acknowledge the things stressing me out and if I can, try and fix them. And the emergency chocolates I bought have remained untouched which I think speaks volumes!!

I have some plans for the blog which I hope to sort out in the next couple of weeks and will try and keep you posted more often.

Hope everyone has been keeping well in my absence and you’ve all been enjoying this gorgeous weather we’ve been having. Today was my final taught lecture of the first year, how did that happen?!? And on that note, I have some studying to do…

The Uni Mummy, over&out x