Where Have I Been?

So I didn't actually plan on being AWOL from these pages (again) this past two weeks, not at all.

Massive apologies to brands waiting for any reviews I'm a little late in producing but sometimes life steps in, takes over and there's nothing that can be done but to just go with it.

Seeing as I have had two weeks away, I decided the best way to ease myself back into the whole blogging world would be to give a little run down of what has kept me so pre-occupied in a little post, and here it is...

"Where Have I Been?"

Unfortunately my absence has nothing to do with jetting away to places with warm sunny skies and cool sandy beaches I'm afraid - I haven't physically been away but my head just hasn't been in the writing game.

First up was something that would stop even the most seasoned writer in their tracks - we had a bit of a meningitis scare with Willow on the first week of my absence and it was terrifying.

She simply woke up one morning and felt really warm and was covered from head to toe with a faint, under skin pale red rash and whilst it wasn't nice this wasn't what freaked me out - the sheer speed at which her hands became covered was unlike anything I've seen before - I literally watched the rash pop up.

But the really scary part?

Well a cluster of the spots on one of her wrists were a deep purple colour - and they didn't blanch under a glass.

Yes, now that was terrifying.

So after a frantic call to the doctors and a not too great drive in traffic to a surgery a little way away from our home, we managed to get an emergency "sit and wait' appointment (trust me, sitting and waiting in these circumstances is never going to be great) where the doctor told me not to panic but not to go anywhere except straight up to the hospital.

(not panic - yeah, right!)

Cue more traffic-filled-poorly-baby-stress-driving followed by parking problems (ie there were no spaces and then when I did find one - streets away from the hospital - I didn't have enough pay and display change - at which point I DID break down and have a cry) but then I FINALLY got my poorly baby up to the hospital ward.

All in all we had a days waiting about, examinations and a blood test but finally Willow was given the Meningitis All Clear (thank goodness) but still wasn't well - just more viral poorly than terrifying poorly.

But naturally my poorly baby came first.

Then, if that wasn't enough, we also had a week of SATs prep for my Year Six superstar to contend with.

Now Charlie, as much as he denies it, does like school, he has a wild imagination and is brilliant at writing and drawing but his confidence has always lacked when it comes to Maths.

Before he even sits and thinks about a question, if it appears too hard then that's it - he just shuts down - homework day is never fun let me tell you.

And whilst we never put pressure on him (especially not for the SATs) we did want him to revise a little bit each evening, which he did but it wasn't easy.

Each time we hit one of these "that's too hard" Maths questions - the kind he thinks he's not capable of - I would ask him to re-look at it and then help him work through the answer, but of course he then thinks I'm criticising him and telling him that he is wrong so he gets cross with me.

It takes a little ten minutes or so distance time away from the work before he realises I'm only trying to help and then we look over the question again with fresh eyes.

But this happens every time.

And it is exhausting but that's what I'm there for isn't it - to help him as best as I can.

And then this past week we actually had the SATs tests so it has been a week of making Charlie feel as relaxed as possible, incorporating a little revision into the evenings but mainly giving him lots of after school tea treats and chilled out time - he's way too young to be worrying, to be stressed and to be anxious.

AND THEN as if all of this wasn't enough to be adding to the usual day-to-day things that need doing, you may have seen that I've been really busy trying to finish off the decorating and house juzzing up.

We recently made the decision that we aren't going to look to move home for a long time now - Charlie is in the high school we wanted which was our biggest worry and as I'm not planning to go back to work until Willow is at school, any mortgage offers we look at wouldn't be that amazing really, however that said, we can't carry on as we are for too much longer either - Willow needs to be out of our bedroom and into her own space as soon as we can manage it.

So, as well as decorating and tidying the house, we've slowly been clearing out our junk crammed loft so that we can get a few quotes to find out just how much a loft conversion will cost so that we can begin to make plans.

Exciting times ahead.

Exciting, busy times...

But if you had wondered where I've been recently, well now you know - I've had my head mixed up in all of the above.

But now I'm back and I know that makes you very happy