Back to work, done!

Did it. Went back to work this week. Turns out the thought of going back to work was much worse than the reality. 

It could have went smoother, Joel was up in the wee hours crying and fussing because he is teething. After 2 1/2 hours of soothing and shushing, a dose of nurofen and a nappy change the only thing that got him over to sleep was 4ozs in his bottle. He hasn't had a night time bottles since the discovery of the magical powers of supper on 12th July! My husband was great, taking the lead as he was conscious it was my first day back at work the next day but even so it was after 5am before we all got back to sleep!

  Joel usually wakes at about 6.30am. I had planned to get up with him and have some play time before heading to work. But due to his unsettled night he had the cheek to sleep in! At 7.30 I was ready to get to work but anxious to leave without seeing Joel. I decided to have a slice of toast and a cup of tea and if he still wasn't awake I would leave. 

I ate my toast and drank my tea veerrryy sllooowwwlllyyy. 

At 8.10 he woke -hurray! Phil hopped out of bed and the pair of them gave me a lift to work so I wasn't late on my first day! 

When I arrived at work I was disappointed by the lack of gossip, and soon realised that everything was pretty much the same. Same co workers, same customers, same stinky microwave, same issues being discussed at management meetings. 

I was nervous about returning to my job, feeling a bit lost as I was sure I had forgotten everything! There was no 'back to work' settling in period put in place, I was simply left to my own devices! But I buddied myself up with a coworker to shadow for a while as I got up to date with any new guidance and I was soon in the swing of things! 

The highlight of my first day back at work had to be when a coworker, an older man in his late 50s/early 60s who swears like a big sweary thing came to tell me there was a box of biscuits to share. When I turned from my computer to speak to him he had two Cadburys chocolate fingers sticking out his nose! I haven't laughed so much in ages. And yes, he ate them. 

The day flew in, I had two hot cups of tea, a relaxed lunch break and good aul catch up with everyone. 

Joel had a lovely day with his granda and I came home to a smiley baby and a big pot of carrot and chickpea soup with wheaten bread and cheese. Lovely!

Got this photo while I was at work. Joel sleeping on the swings in the park. 

Work has its perks! Hot cup of tea, drank right to the end. God I love tea!

My advice to all my friends facing the gloom of going back to work is that the thought of it is much worse than doing it! Think of all the tea!!

Super Cool Mummy Club!

So I decided to be brave and invite the local mummies in for a cuppa.  Well I did it the cowards way, I added them all as friends on Facebook and sent a group message to save my red face knocking on doors.  

It's funny how much you go about living your life without noticing your neighbours. Everyone is busy going to and from work, going out.

I have great neighbours that I have got to known well over the past 5 years,  Jenny won't mind me saying that she's been known to be in my house in her jammies scribbling down the password to steal my wifi and I've been on her doorstep knocking for milk on Christmas Day!! Gone are the normal social boundaries, but isn't it great to have neighbours you can call upon anytime?
Jenny is very open about her not-so-easy experiences during motherhood and tiny premature baby Erin has thrived into a stunning wild red headed clever clogs chomping at the bit to start nursery school in September.  Even more amazing than that is that Jenny, who works night shift, is hitting the books again herself to position herself in line for her dream job.  This is a big commitment, a 4 year plan of study but did I mention that the lovely ladies on my street are all superheros?

Teresa and I have a very special cake relationship , I bring her the leftover cake from my house, she brings me the leftover cake from her house! This girl is like family, I don't even bother tidying the house for her visiting anymore! How Teresa EVER gets out of the house, I don't know, she has two beautiful boys under the age of 18months!!  Anyone who can manage that must be a superhero!  I know her boys and my Joel will be running about the park together soon and we will be sipping 'tea' (wine) from our flask watching them play!

Theres a lovely security in knowing the people who live around you and knowing that you can call on them in an emergency, although lets hope that never happens!
And then there are the other mummies in the street,  girls who I have not had a relationship with before but who I added to my tea and biscuits night invite in the hope to get to know.  As it turns out, these ladies also have superpowers!

Caroline I have chatted briefly to a few times as her husband taught me how to drive ( a brief experience before he packed in the driving instructing game altogether, he promises it wasn't because I was awful, I choose to believe him). Caroline had a beautiful tiny baby Phoebe only 4 weeks ago.  I'm secretly convinced that she has super powers as baby Phoebe was 4 weeks early and her husband had to go back to work very soon after she got home from hospital, Caroline managed to arrive at my house on time, NOT in her pyjamas and didn't yawn the whole time she was here, although I know she must be extremely sleep deprived.

There is a girl who lives opposite me and to be honest I never noticed she had a baby until Joel arrived and I was more alert to noticing other babies and mums.  In fact the baby across the road was nearly one when Joel arrived, until then he was invisible to me!!  I have never got speaking to Lynsey but Caroline extended the invitation to her also, after all, the more the merrier!  Lynsey's son is just over a year old and she is back at work.  I am due back to work in 2 weeks (*sob*) and I sometimes wonder how I am going to manage it.  Lynsey, in true H.Street superhero style, makes it seem do-able.

And mystery neighbour across the road had tiny baby Alexander just over a week ago.  I had never spoken to her before Joel arrived but one day while taking him out in his car seat she came over for a peek and revealed the exciting news that she was expecting a new arrival.  We have chatted in the street often since but I have never asked her name!  I invited her over for tea with everyone else that night but she never made it - and who could blame her - she is probably still in that stage where she doesn't know what time of day it is!  Hopefully she will make the next tea evening as it has been agreed that we will make an effort to make it a monthly date.

I really enjoyed having my lovely neighbours over last night.  It has to be said that our common thread is motherhood and we spent a good part of the evening talking about our babies and our experiences in pregnancy and labour.  We drank tea, and maybe some Prosecco and laughed.  The only downside is all the leftover buns in my kitchen....ahem...

 
Go on people, reach out and get to know your neighbours!  Its fun!