My {bank holiday} weekend has mainly been spent…

• Waking up at Bowood Hotel after my cousin Sophie’s wedding on the Friday. We were in an incredibly luxurious suite and everything about our stay was perfect.
• Gasping for a cup of tea.
• Waiting for the children to stir.
• Smiling when they finally piled into bed with us.
• Reminiscing about the night before. Jesse was a total legend on the dance floor.
• Saying goodbye to my mum who had to head off for her second wedding of the weekend.
• Luxuriating in the enormous double shower.
• Pulling on some comfy clothes and heading down to breakfast.
• Tucking into the buffet.
• Catching up with the newlyweds.
• Wandering back to our room to finish getting ready.
• Packing our bags and checking out.
• Mentally planning a return trip.
• Jumping in my uncle’s car and driving down the road to visit Bowood House and Gardens.
• Pulling over to take a quick picture of the bluebells.
• Heading straight for the adventure playground.
• Bumping into more family.
• Sipping tea and chatting with Mr L.A. and my uncle while the children scaled the climbing frame.
• Stopping off for a spot of lunch at my aunt and uncle’s house.
• Catching up with my cousin Amy who is visiting from Australia.
• Missing my dad.
• Jumping on the train back to Bristol.
• Vegging out on the sofa.
• Sorting laundry.
• Feeding the kids beans on toast and insisting they both had an early night.
• Ordering Chinese food.
• Watching Swiss Army Man. I wasn’t too sure about this quirky comedy, but it’s worth watching for Daniel Radcliffe’s performance alone.
• Collapsing into bed.
• Sleeping in.
• Dragging myself downstairs.
• Helping Jesse get ready for Taikwondo. He had an early morning grading to get to.
• Relaxing at home with Izzy while Mr L.A. took him to the gym.
• Meal planning and shopping for groceries online.
• Making pasta with pesto for lunch.
• Letting Izzy escape to a friend’s house for a sleepover.
• Feeling a little blue while Mr L.A. rushed around the house, packing for a trip to Norway.
• Seeing him off at the door.
• Snuggling with Jesse on the sofa.
• Roasting carrots with olive oil, crushed coriander seeds, chili flakes and the zest and juice of an orange.
• Cooking some rice to accompany the veg and eating it all with a generous drizzle of soy sauce.
• Reading Jesse a bedtime story and tucking him in for the night.
• Eating leftover Easter chocolate on the sofa.
• Chatting to Mr L.A. on the phone.
• Watching Casting Jonbenet and Girlboss on Netflix.
• Taking myself upstairs to bed.
• Reading until I fell asleep.
• Waking up when Jesse clambered in beside me.
• Drinking tea and watching Moana.
• Enjoying a very slow start to the day.
• Eventually getting washed and dressed.
• Spritzing myself with Jo Malone’s Mimosa and Cardamom Cologne, kindly sent to me by a reader, Christine, who spotted it on a recent wish list and had an unwanted bottle going spare. Its arrival put a huge smile on my face.
• Squeezing in a bit of work while Jesse watched cartoons on Netflix.
• Unloading groceries when my Ocado delivery arrived.
• Cooking and eating Oven-Baked Asparagus and Eggs.
• Strolling to the supermarket.
• Buying Jesse a comic.
• Narrowly avoiding getting caught in the rain.
• Listening to the thunder from the comfort of the kitchen.
• Feeling sleepy.
• Missing Mr L.A.
• Getting a head-start on dinner. I made cheese sauce from scratch to go with shop-bought stuffed cannelloni.
• Welcoming Izzy home from her sleepover.
• Uploading my wedding pics to Facebook.
• Sitting down to dinner.
• Throwing the kids in the shower and handing them clean PJs.
• Letting them watch a little TV before bed.
• Tapping away at my laptop.
• Hoping I can survive until Mr L.A. arrives home on Thursday.

Love Audrey xxx