• Coaxing Jesse back into bed at 5.40am.
• Dozing peacefully.
• Waking up to the words ‘but the sun is up Mummy!’
• Persuading Jesse to snuggle under the bed covers with me for a little while longer.
• Heading downstairs for a cup of tea.
• Slipping a tray of french toast muffins into the oven. I can highly recommend this recipe, but consider making them in silicone cases rather than a naked muffin tray as I did. Scrubbing the thing clean afterwards really wasn’t much fun.
• Dishing up. Side of fried bacon, heavy on the maple syrup.
• Climbing into the shower.
• Wearing a pretty polka dot dress.
• Bundling the children out of the house and heading for the University campus.
• Picking up a picnic on the way.
• Watching the children climb trees.
• Feeling nostalgic.
• Finding a pretty spot by Reed Pond and stopping for lunch.
• Feeding the ducks.
• Watching a seagull hunt. He swooped and soared around the fountain before plunging head first into the water and emerging with a fish in his beak.
• Walking through campus in the sunshine.
• Posing for a windswept photo.
• Pausing to admire the waterlilies.
• Slowly wandering home.
• Persuading Mr. LA to empty the attic for me. I’ve started decluttering in anticipation of our big move later this summer.
• Looking at 8 years’ worth of children’s clothes and realising I probably belong in an episode of Super Hoarders.
• Sorting and clearing for around 3 hours. THREE HOURS. I ended up with 6 bin bags for the charity shop, 3 for a friend and a huge box of things to Ebay. It was cathartic, if a little exhausting.
• Deciding to ignore the remaining pile of baby boy’s clothes for a few days.
• Cooking and eating burgers, garlicky potatoes and a huge salad.
• Putting the children to bed.
• Settling down for an evening of cocktails and conversation with a dear friend.
• Laughing a lot.
• Feeling tipsy.
• Collapsing into bed.
• Waking up as Mr. LA left for work.
• Climbing into the top bunk with Izzy for a cuddle.
• Smiling as Jesse joined us.
• Listening to Izzy read Oh The Places You’ll Go. Don’t you just love Dr Seuss?
• Drinking tea and skipping breakfast.
• Ironing a pretty summer dress.
• Trying to decide whether my underwear was visible through said dress.
• Not knowing whether to trust Izzy’s judgment on the matter. She said she coudn’t see my pants, but that it would be ‘pretty cool’ if people could.
• Delivering Izzy to her drama class.
• Catching up on chores.
• Hanging washing out to dry in the sun.
• Waving enthusiastically as I spied my Mum heading towards the house.
• Sitting in the garden to have a good natter, drink tea and eat chocolate biscuits.
• Watching Jesse help my Bonus Dad hull strawberries for pudding.
• Walking with my Mum to collect Izzy.
• Warming some soup for lunch.
• Eating too much.
• Strolling to the park.
• Spreading out the picnic blanket in a shady spot under a tree.
• Pushing Jesse on the swing.
• Enjoying the sight of Izzy with her nose in a book {The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown}.
• Listening to her daydream about starting her own theatre company, just as the children in the story do.
• Laughing as Jesse rolled around in a muddy patch beside the goal posts on the grass.
• Retreating back to the house for a drink.
• Saying goodbye to my parents.
• Clearing up the debris of the day.
• Feeding the children a quick supper before giving them a much needed bath.
• Reading bedtime stories.
• Feeling exhausted, but happy.
• Waiting {im}patiently for Mr. LA to return home.

Love Audrey xxx