little white truths

I haven't been able to blog much this month for a few reasons, including that I've had more work on lately and also that our social calendars have exploded, so there just hasn't been time.

But I want to keep trying to get a few posts out each week while I weather the busy storm, because it helps keep me feeling more human and I don't like being away from my computer too long.

Next up is a monthly positives post. Given we're only halfway through an insanely busy month and given I need to keep my head on straight, this seemed like a good idea for today.

There's a lull for the moment

We had four birthday parties during that first weekend of October, and we've just come off the back of my son's birthday celebrations (which included having guests stay with us for four days), plus we had another birthday party last night - but as of today, things settle for a week before picking up again.

So at least this weekend is looking reasonably free, and while I still have to face the fact that my husband is away for the last week of October (leaving me solo with two pre-schoolers), I'm looking forward to catching my breath a bit for the next few days.

More than anything I need to get on top of things like washing and cooking again, which went out the window this weekend while we were organising ourselves for my son's party and hosting our guests. The break is needed so I can get things in order again.

We're not strapped for things to do

The good news about this month is that we haven't had to plan things for our weekends because that side of things has been taken care of, and that trend is continuing into the first half of November because we have another wave of birthday parties and other engagements hitting us then.

What I also like about these social engagements is that you can usually have a chat to other parents at birthday parties, so even though these events mean that our weekends are taken up by kid stuff (they usually are anyway), at least in these instances it's not just us supervising our kids at the playground - others are in the same boat and we can get to know the other childcare/kinder parents better. That helps.

We're past the sickness season (touch wood)

While of course kids can get sick at any time of year, my son has been bringing all sorts of rubbish home from childcare over the past six months and we're hoping that the colds will ease in the months ahead.

While thankfully the illnesses he's had haven't been that bad, it's felt like he's been bringing the same cold into the house only days after he just got over it. Again and again. And since there's a lot of unavoidable food-sharing that goes on in this house, it's not unusual that myself and my daughter will get his illnesses too, albeit milder versions of them.

So fingers crossed that the worst of it is over, and that we'll be heading into an illness-free period for a while. I'm sick of going through so many tissues, sick of everyone not feeling their best. Time for a change.

The house is cleaner than usual

One good thing about having guests to stay is that you're forced to give the house a really good clean before they arrive, so we did that last week and were able to do things that we normally don't have much time for (like dusting and wiping down the skirting boards).

So although last week felt like madness because we had a lot of stuff on and had to clean in the spaces, it means that we don't need to give the house a huge overhaul for a little while because it's already been done.

This also frees up some time for me to focus on things like going through the kids' toys and clothes, so I can donate whatever they've grown out of and make more room for the stuff that will inevitably come in at Christmas. Bonus.

My Christmas shopping is done

Speaking of Christmas, I did all my Christmas shopping in August so I don't need to worry about that because it's been dealt with (minus whatever Santa may get for the kids).

I've done my Christmas shopping early for as long as I can remember, and it makes things so much easier once the festive season hits. While I would normally do it in October, this year I was early and I'm happy about that because there's certainly no time for shopping at the moment!

I also find that if I start thinking about Christmas early, then I can have my eye on what I want and look out for sales or discount codes. This makes the whole process cheaper, and of course much less of a headache because the festive season can be a headache without the added stress of running around to do your Christmas shopping at the last minute. Huzzah.

In sum

That's all from me. I'm glad I was able to finish off this post this morning (it's been in the works for a couple of days) and I'm looking forward to writing my October favourites next.

After that, who knows. I'm having issues uploading photos from my phone to my computer at the moment, so I'm hoping my husband can sort that issue out for me because I'm crap with technology and he isn't.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com