Cheerful Sunday

Today, I am cheerful that I am 34 years old. I got to celebrate the day with my two most favourite guys who make me smile so big. I have amazing parents, family, and friends. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. Can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Cheerful sunday

There is a park near my house that has this little enclave tucked away between the playground and the walking path. I've never seen anyone in it, and it is frequently flooded (as in the picture) from recent rain. It always brings a smile to my face. It has the charm of a secret garden and I imagine picnics filled with happy families. I think it would be the most charming spot for an intimate wedding ceremony. I can practically see the flowers, candles, and twinkle lights I'd use to decorate. Of course, the wedding isn't likely to happen a) because I'm already married & b) because the UK has very strict rules about where you can get married. Someday, though, I'll actually have a picnic there.

Cheerful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm cheerful about things for which I'm thankful.
(How's that for shoehorning in a Thanksgiving post?) In that spirit, I'm going to tell you what I'm thankful for right now.

1. My parents-

How much does Linus look like me in this picture!?

My parents are awesome. Ross and I are both super grateful for their love and support. They are also amazing grandparents. I can't say how luck I am to have them as my mom and dad.

2. My new friends- I'm very lucky to have met some awesome women in the last year. One of their husbands dubbed us "The Coven", which never fails to amuse me. I hadn't realized how much I missed having girlfriends. My little group of friends brings me a ton of laughter and support as we go through the first months of motherhood together. I actually celebrated Thanksgiving by getting together with the girls for my first night out without Linus (and also my first without Ross since I moved here!). We had drinks and pizza. I wore a dress and a real bra for the first time in 9 months! I'm completely unbiased in my assessment that we have the four most awesome babies in the world ;)

3. My family- I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm totally into my husband and by baby. They're, like, the most awesome-sauce covered awesomes ever. Ross always makes me laugh and works so hard to take care of me and Linus. He's a committed, caring, loving husband and a goofy, tender, sweetheart of a dad. Watching the two of them together makes me weepy with happiness. 

my two loves

Those are my big 3! I hope you're having a cheerful Sunday and that you have as many awesomes in your world as I have in mine.

Cheerful Sunday

Busy times make me a bad blogger, but this little swoop in Linus' hair at the nape of his neck always makes me feel happy.

(edited to fix the picture!)

Cheerful Sunday

This week's Reason to Be Cheerful is a glimpse into some more of my crazy.

This morning, as I folded laundry, I made this face.

Oh so clean...

I explained to Ross, who was looking at me like I was crazy. That I love the way freshly laundered and tumble-dried men's shirts smell. Specifically undershirts. They smell manly and wonderful and I buried my nose in Ross' about 5 times before finally folding it. 

Fun fact: Despite the fact that we use completely different laundry detergent, Ross' shirts smell exactly the same as my dad's do.

Cheerful Sunday

It's no secret that my sweet boy is my favorite reason to be cheerful. And in this owl hat, he's even more cheer-tastic. 

But that's not exactly today's reason to be cheerful. 

Today's reason to be cheerful is more about babies in general, but it's true that Linus has made me aware of it. I love when I'm out and about with Linus and men see him and crack big smiles and say hello! It's just about the cutest thing ever. The bigger, gruffer, and tougher looking the guy, the more cheerful it makes me. I love that sweet little babies can make goofs of these guys.

Cheerful Sunday

Sure, these don't look like much now that they're frozen, but once they're cooked look out! These carrot burgers that I whipped up are delicious and chock full of healthy stuff. A much better (and tastier) option than the usual soya/filler "veggie" burgers, they use actual veggies! Now that I've made orange burgers, I'm going to try my hand at creating a whole rainbow of varieties!

I made enough to have 2 burgers that night, 4 are in the freezer and I've even got four mini patties to cook up for Linus.

Cheerful Sunday

My baby boy is sitting up!

Cheerful Sunday

Even Linus, agrees! Sparkly sneakers are very cheerful.

Cheerful Sunday

We had a fun time at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival today, even though it was pouring down rain.
We took shelter in one of the food tents and enjoyed some fresh pancakes (thin, crepe style)- lemon and sugar for me, apple and cinnamon for Ross.

We got some delicious fresh French bread and very tasty crumbly Lancashire cheese.

How wonderful to have fun, even when conditions are less than ideal!

Cheerful Sunday

Linus is finally doing all his sleeping in the crib! He's been sleeping nights in the crib for quite some time, but we hadn't managed successful naps in it until this week.
He even threw in some cute "Butt in The Air" sleeping for the first time today!

He's back to sleeping through the night after a cold messed his sleep up last week... though I'd be even more cheerful if he'd stop waking up at 5AM!

Cheerful Sunday

London Games

It makes me very cheerful that The Olympics are in Great Britain this year.  It makes it all so exciting.  The best part, however, is that they are in London and we are in Manchester.  We get all the thrill of being proud to be the host nation without the inconvenience and crowds!

We watched the opening ceremony (well, I made it halfway through the parade of nations), but haven't watched that much else so far.

Are you watching the Olympics?

Cheerful Sunday

These two boys are very cute and fun. They make me more cheerful than just about anything.

(edited to flip the picture the right way... silly mobile Blogger app)

Cheerful Sunday

So yummy!

Cheerful Sunday

One song, three ways is very cheerful.

First up, the original.  It nearly reached over-play saturation, but I still dig it:

Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye feat. Kimbra

Next, the Glee-ified version.  With the hawtness of Darren Criss and Matt Bomer:

Somebody that Glee Used to Know

And finally, a version for all my nerds out there:  

The Star Wars That I Used to Know

Cheerful Sunday

I'm pretty sure that my beloved G'ma is the most cheerful woman on the planet today.
She completed her great-grandson trifecta in under 4 months.

Congratulations to Jen and Curtis on the birth of baby George!
Linus is very excited and can't wait to meet his newest cousin!

Cheerful Sunday

Father/Son matching socks for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee are very cheerful indeed!

Cheerful Sunday

A few nights ago I was making dinner.
I was preparing Jersey Royals and found the most awesome potato ever!

It made me almost irrationally happy.  I summoned Ross to view it with great excitement.  Luckily for me, he thought it was just as cool as I did.  We sure are dorks.

So our dorkiness and my love of heart shaped carbs is a great reason to be cheerful!

Cheerful Sunday

I realize I've been pretty repetitive lately, but when just looking at this sweet face makes me literally teary with joy I have all the reason to be cheerful that I need.

Cheerful Sunday

Linus and I wish you a very Cheerful Easter Sunday!