Little Moments of Joy in July

Life gets ridiculously busy and the months fly by, so I think it’s important to take a step back and appreciate those little pockets of joy in your day.

I feel like my hormones were on a roller coaster in July, while tackling endless health appointments and in full time mum mode. Perhaps it was a sign mercury retrograde was in full force. But none the less, we’re one step closer to the ‘ber’ months which feels me with so much happiness.

Before I get all super excited for the autumn months ahead, I did have a sprinkle of joyful July moments.

Early July started lovely, we celebrated with some friends with their daughter turning one. Their daughter is a few weeks younger than our Alessia, so it’s great to have someone to compare notes with.

Any who, we got some picky bits from M&S, ate a humungous slice of birthday cake and chatted away with them and our other NCT friends.

The little joyful moments with my daughter and my dog boy will always fill me with huge amounts of joy. Motherhood is hard, really hard when you have a teeny tiny village. But my daughter’s giggle, the development stages and the cuddles are so heartwarming. And she has a bit of a spicy personality, I wonder where she gets it from!

The extension rooms coming together. My vision coming together. The home I’ve always dreamed of.

I wish I could do so much more to my home, but baby steps as we had an extension built while I was on maternity leave. And we’re slowly decorating the rooms. Impatient me wants it all done and out of the way, but tricky when you have a little one!

Walks are always so good for the soul.

I feel like a weight has been lifted from me when I go for a ‘walk and talk’ with a friend or with my little family. I think perhaps because I’m entertaining a mini me all day and making sure my dog gets equal attention to, I need that mental mind re-set at the end of the day. A moment to breathe and soak up the birds chirping away.

A spontaneous solo spa day at The Grove. What a blooming luxury! Thanking Joe for allowing me to de-compress.

Fresh flowers to brighten my home.

Little solo parenting treats.

I find the solo parenting days tough because I no longer drive due to health complications. I do 3 days a week of looking after my little one for around 12-13 hours each day (not including the night hours when I co-parent), where I struggle to find the time to eat and the exhaustion sometimes hits from being chronically ill. But we have a good routine with lots of walks and bonding time. The little treats do help. And my mum is a superhero and comes to help 2 days a week.

I’m slowly building up the confidence to not be around Alessia all the time, but I’m always on hand for nappy changes, feeds and support if Alessia won’t settle.

When Joe is working from home I find it a lot easier, however he is a busy man in back to back meetings and I can’t really disturb him. But if I’m feeling exhausted, I’ll ask him to help out.

Alessia’s first brunch and a walk around St Albans was lovely. She very much enjoyed her avo, but wasn’t a fan of the toast.

Brunch in Berkhamsted at a little coffee shop named Joan. Very tasty toasted banana bread and a lush matcha.

Going to the cinema baby-free to watch The Odyssey. My mum stepped in and looked after A. Alessia was waiting for us to return home at gone 9pm, so we did a late night bath and a night time walk to send her to sleep.

Acai bowl of dreams – a lunch date with my mum and Alessia.

Joe and I had a spontaneous evening at the pub with Alessia, as she was refusing to go to sleep.

Lunch with a NCT friend and her daughter was lovely. And she very kindly bought me sunflowers unexpectedly! Very sweet. Us mum’s could barely touch our meals though. The struggle was real.

Alessia’s first zoo trip was a success.

She can make animal noises and her lion impression is so cute! She loved the day, as did we.

I can’t wait to take her to one of my other favourite zoo’s at some point.

Bit of a weird joy to mention but having access to private health care is amazing, and such a luxury I know. I need to have surgery soon which caught me off guard a bit. However, I know I will be in safe hands and hopefully the operation will have long term benefits on my health. A girl can dream, eh.

Oh how I’ve missed writing up my little joys. Thankfully Alessia is sleeping peacefully at the moment while my mum is looking after her, so having the time to write is pure bliss.

I have to mention that the state of the climate crisis is making me super anxious. As well as hearing what’s been going on in the news. It’s a massive shit show isn’t it. So, reminding myself there are still pockets of joy each day and every day. No matter how big or small. Romanticize your life to the fullest!