• Berating myself for failing to switch my alarm off. Being woken up at 6am on a Saturday morning by anything other than small children is a crime.
• Dozing with Jesse in my arms.
• Feeling a tiny bit hungover. Mr. LA’s parents arrived on Friday evening and we kicked off the weekend with a huge meal {slow roasted garlic and lemon chicken with braised little gems and orzo, followed by white chocolate almond cake and a salad of mango, raspberry and lime}. There was plenty of wine. Naturally.
• Listening to the children play with their grandparents.
• Sipping tea and eating toast.
• Wishing we’d finished clearing up from dinner the night before. There are few things worse than waking up to a messy kitchen.
• Taking a speedy shower and hurriedly getting dressed.
• Pinning my overgrown fringe back and wishing I’d had time for a trim.
• Walking to the station en masse.
• Hoping the rain would hold off.
• Taking the train to Exmouth.
• Bracing ourselves against the wind and strolling along the beach.
• Laughing at the children and their disregard for the inclement weather. If we’d let her, Izzy would have happily stripped off and gone for a swim!
• Deciding it was too chilly to eat al fresco.
• Enjoying a pub lunch.
• Ambling through the town centre.
• Pausing to browse the charity shops, of which there were plenty.
• Catching the train home.
• Picking up supplies from the supermarket.
• Giving the children an early supper.
• Drinking mojitos and ordering a take away.
• Laughing a lot.
• Somehow working our way through an entire bottle of rum.
• Sleeping in.
• Clearing up from the night before {again} and baking a birthday cake for my Mum.
• Preparing two beer-butt chickens for lunch. I adore this recipe! Not only does it taste amazing, but the rather undignified looking birds always make me smile as they cook.
• Roasting broccoli and baking sweet potatoes.
• Greeting my parents as they arrived.
• Dishing up the food. We ate buffet style with our plates perched precariously on our laps. While I can’t wait to have more space to entertain in our new house, I shall miss the more haphazard dining experience we’ve become accustomed to while living here.
• Singing happy birthday.
• Giggling when my Mum laughed so hard she accidentally blew her candles out.
• Eating too much.
• Enjoying time with my Mum in the kitchen while we cleaned up.
• Loving the colourful ceramic egg cups my parents bought back from Spain.
• Drinking tea.
• Saying goodbye to our guests.
• Immediately putting on my pyjamas.
• Napping on the sofa.
• Making dippy eggs and soldiers for the children’s tea.
• Sampling the heaven that is Carte D’Or Salted Caramel Ice Cream.
• Bathing the children.
• Reading a bedtime story.
• Kissing Jesse goodnight.
• Listening to Izzy read some of My Naughty Little Sister aloud and remembering how much I loved the stories as a child.
• Slurping noodles in soup and craving a quiet night alone on the sofa with my husband.

Love Audrey xxx