Ten happy things…plus a few photos of my beautiful little girl enjoying the sunshine last week <3

1. RAIN! I don’t think I’ve ever been so overjoyed by cool, showery summer days before, but after weeks of sweltering heat, it’s just bliss isn’t it? And I’ve tried so hard not to be a moany pregnant woman…but my GOD it’s so much more exhausting hefting around a bump in the heat!!

2. Coffee and bookshop trips with Ottilie <3 She requests a strawberry milkshake every time we go, and we sit together and colour or do stickers and it’s basically the best. I couldn’t love her more.

3. My new diffuser, which is basically my new BFF! I bought it to use for my home birth (fingers crossed!), but it’s so amazing I literally have it on non stop. A combination of ylang ylang and bergamot oils is my current favourite.

4. Starting to pack my birth bag. It’s all beginning to feel so, so real! We’ve also started our hypnobirthing course with the Positive Birth Company this week, and it’s absolutely amazing! It’s giving me such a positive, content feeling about approaching the birth of this baby, and is a lovely way to spend an hour in the evenings with Jason too. I’m recommending it to everyone already!

5. Picking homegrown cucumbers. There are so many on the plants now, and surprisingly the outdoor ones are doing better than the ones in the greenhouse!

6. Courgette fritters, all day long! They’re 100% my favourite thing to eat for dinner right now, and I’ve just cooked up a double batch to fill the freezer with. And with our current courgette harvest rate, I’ll be making a fair few more batches before the summer is over…

7. Heading to bed early in the evenings and reading the book everyone’s talking about right now, ‘This Is Going to hurt’ by Adam Kay! It’s an honest account of the life of a Junior Doctor, and I’ve finished it in record time. The end hit me like a train, but I also laughed more times than I could count whilst reading it. 100% recommend!

8. Taking Ottie to London on the train a couple of weekends, and how much it blew her mind! She’s obsessed with trains and so was in her element the whole journey there and back- we’re taking her to the London Transport Museum for her birthday at the beginning of next month, and I think she’s going to love it!

9. The cleaning product aisle in Waitrose, obsessing over the scents of different fabric softeners, sight of freshly vacuumed carpets…because in case you couldn’t guess, I’m nesting like a lunatic and this is apparently what makes me happy these days!

10. The sweet, ripe greengages I found at the farm shop earlier in the week! They were sickeningly expensive, but worth every delicious penny!

What’s made you happy this week? :)

1. That magical moment when Ottie falls asleep in the car, and I get to switch over from The Gruffalo audiobook to a podcast! Current favourites are At Home With by Lily and Anna, and Giovanna Fletcher’s ‘Happy Mum Happy Baby’!

2. Pickling, jamming, and jarring! Getting a bit obsessed over here with seeing my cupboards slowly fill with homegrown, freshly preserved produce for the winter months. Pickled beetroot was my latest venture, and next up I’m planning some courgette chutney!

3. Rain! Sweet, sweet rain! I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a storm roll in and the heavens open. Blessed relief for this overheated pregnant Mama!

4. Wednesday playdates with my sister in law and my niece and nephew! Ottilie is obsessed with her cousins, they children play so nicely together (mostly, we only have to wade in and referee the girls every 15 minutes or so ;), and two adults to three children makes everything a million times easier! A couple of weeks ago we put them all in the car, drove around until they all fell asleep, then went to a McDonalds drive through for fries and milkshakes. It was totally amazing…

5. Five sweet, ripe raspberries eaten straight from the canes in the garden. I planted them in the most stupid spot this year and am in the process of putting together new raspberry beds ready for next summer, but the few we’ve had are just delicious! Already excited for next summer’s (hopefully!!) bountiful crop!

6. Being kicked in the ribs, and feeling little tiny fingers tickling behind my hip bones. So weird, so wonderful.

7. Putting together a little stash of lovely gifts ready for Ottilie’s birthday! Can you believe she’ll be 2 in a month’s time?! I’m sure it was only a couple of months ago I was planning her first birthday! I’ve been a bit obsessive about getting everything organised ultra early this year since her birthday is less than a month before my due date, so now I’m done getting sorted for her birthday I’m moving on to Christmas. Not even kidding..

8. Seeing little baby butternut squashes growing on the vines down in the vegetable patch. So very exciting!

9. Beginning our online hypnobirthing course! We’re using The Positive Birth Company’s digital pack, and loving it so far. SO amazing to be able to follow along with it at our own pace, in the comfort of our own living room where I’m hoping to give birth come October.

10. Ottilie-isms: ‘Peel my toast Mummy’ (she wanted the crusts taken off…), ‘I love purple/dinosaurs/chocolate cake/Elsie/(literally anything!), dat my favourite!’, and her current obsession with playing ‘midmife’ and measuring my bump with a tape measure <3

1. Sleepy cuddles with Ottilie first thing in the morning, when she wanders into our room at sunrise and climbs into our bed. She often falls back asleep tucked under my arm just like she used to when she was a baby, and it melts my heart.

2. When the ice lolly I eat each evening after dinner as ritual does its job and gets rid of my heartburn. Magic, and it tastes a whole lot better than Gaviscon too!

3. Homegrown beetroots! I’ve never been the biggest fan of beetroot, having only ever tried the limp, vinegary, pre-cooked supermarket variety, but freshly picked and then roasted in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and honey? They’re incredible! I’ve just sown a whole new tray of seeds to see us into the autumn months…

4. Endless discussions about baby names with Jason. It’s making me so, so excited to meet this little one in my tummy and find out whether it’s a boy or a girl!

5. This glorious, endlessly hot summer we’re having. I’m enjoying every minute of it!

6. Seeing baby cucumbers forming on the plants in my greenhouse. I’m beyond excited to taste the very first one!

7. Having my sister come down and stay with us this weekend just gone, and seeing how much Ottilie outright adores her! ‘Auntie Chessa’ is her new best friend, don’t you know <3

8. Working outside in the garden with Jason in the evenings. He’s usually (read: always) there under  orders, creating new beds for me or helping water whilst I plant out or weed or sow seeds, but it’s just so lovely having some quality time together outside in the balmy evening air. I love it so, so much!

9. The sweet, orangey-red apricots I’ve been buying from the farm shop non-stop, that are so juicy and delicious Ottilie’s been demanding them one right after another!

10. And finally, writing this blog post sat up in bed, with an empty plate just next to me that once was filled with a stack of toast and homemade jam, and the sunlight streaming through the curtains. Bliss.

1. Homemade (and homegrown…) Bombay potatoes. Easily the tastiest meal I’ve cooked in weeks! 100% worth the horrific heartburn they gave me…

2. Ottie’s non-stop renditions of ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’, or as she likes to call it, ‘Pink Black Sheep’! It’s the cutest thing and makes me laugh every time!

3. Bright sunlight streaming into a clean, tidy living room. It generally lasts for all of about 3 minutes before Ottilie’s tipped out every toy she owns from her toy baskets, but still!

4. Eating freshly picked strawberries that are still warm from the sunshine, and taste sweeter than any you could ever find in the supermarket. Absolute joy.

5. Erm…would you judge me if I said Love Island? Because Jason and I are hooked!! I just love how it’s a break from the heavy, tense TV shows we usually watch (like The Handmaid’s Tale, Homeland, Marcella…) and is total and utter escapism. Team Laura, am I right?!

6. Tomato plants laden with dozens and dozens of little green fruits in the greenhouse. Hurry up and ripen, please!

7. Drinking coffee from a brand new mug. Why is it the most satisfying thing?

8. Putting on music, and hearing Ottilie shout ‘let’s dance!’ before breaking out some of her finest moves! <3  I must try and video it next time she does it…

9. The smell of strawberry jam bubbling away on the hob. Our kitchen smelt like heaven for hours afterwards!

10. And last but not least, this week of beautiful weather! Isn’t it gorgeous? I feel like we’re on holiday! Though I might actually be sick of BBQs already, and it’s only June…

What’s made you happy last week?