• Luxuriating in bed having been craving a slow start to the morning all week.
• Heading downstairs for a cup of tea.
• Waiting patiently for the food shopping to be delivered.
• Eating leftover Salted Caramel Cookies for breakfast.
• Ducking into the shower while the children watched a film.
• Feeling excited at the prospect of old friends coming to visit.
• Hurriedly getting dressed and doing my makeup.
• Vacuuming the hallway and tidying the living room.
• Preparing Italian Roast Chicken with Peppers and Olives for lunch.
• Slicing the fruit for Italian Apple Pie.
• Inhaling the delicious scents wafting from the kitchen and throughout the house.
• Greeting our guests as they arrived.
• Marvelling at how easily children pick up where they left off. Izzy and Jesse hadn’t seen Jack and Anna for months and months, but they were bosom buddies again within minutes.
• Drinking tea and catching up.
• Gathering around the table for lunch.
• Pausing between courses.
• Feeling grateful for custard.
• Bundling up against the cold and wandering to the park.
• Enjoying the sight of all the children playing together.
• Watching Jesse frolic and laugh.
• Comforting Izzy when she knocked her head and fell from the climbing frame.
• Loving the autumn leaves.
• Strolling to the edge of the lake.
• Admiring the swans.
• Chatting all the way home.
• Warming up with mugs of tea and leftover pudding.
• Saying goodbye.
• Unpacking Jesse’s books on to the freshly installed shelves in his new room.
• Bathing the children.
• Loving the look of excitement on Jesse’s face as he prepared to spend his first night alone. Before sharing with Izzy he slept with us, so it felt like quite a momentous occasion.
• Listening as Mr. LA read a bedtime story.
• Chuckling as Jesse told me to ‘get away’. He was desperate to be by himself!
• Lingering just outside his door for a while.
• Sitting with Izzy on the sofa while she read Northern Lights.
• Eating eggs in purgatory for supper.
• Sipping gin and tonic and snacking on crisps while we watched Red Lights. Utterly disappointing film.
• Climbing into bed for what turned out to be a pretty rubbish night’s sleep.
• Being woken by Jesse for the third time at around 5.30am.
• Giving up and letting him snuggle with us in bed.
• Feeling grateful when Mr. LA took the children downstairs and let me sleep.
• Finally surfacing around 8.30am.
• Drinking tea and chatting to my mum on the phone.
• Eating scrambled eggs and baked beans for breakfast.
• Doing endless loads of laundry.
• Creating a gallery wall above Jesse’s bed using a combination of new purchases and the art from their old room.
• Having fun with my new Make Your Own Banner Kit from Papermash.
• Taking a shower.
• Slipping on my jeans and a cosy jumper.
• Devouring a bowl of soup and buttered bread roll.
• Seeing Mr. LA and Izzy off as they headed into town for her drama class.
• Watching Jesse play with his Duplo.
• Pottering. I tidied the kitchen, did a bit of prep for our next decorating project and wasted a little time on Pinterest.  Bliss.
• Daydreaming about new furniture.
• Looking forward to the arrival of my new phone tomorrow. I’m finally popping my iPhone cherry. One word: Instagram.
• Cooking sausages, roasting potatoes and steaming green veg for supper.
• Feeling stupidly happy as we all sat down for dinner together.
• Enjoying Izzy’s enthusiasm as she recounted her afternoon at class.
• Bathing children, reading bedtime stories and giving goodnight kisses.
• Indulging in a cheeky chocolate bar while blogging from the dining room table.

Love Audrey xxx