A Look Back On 2017

I have just had a wonderful couple of weeks of blogging and social media over Christmas and New Year and it has been so nice to have time away from the laptop. However, while I have had time away I have been thinking about this blog and I am going to be making some improvements and changes to this blog for 2018, I am also going to set up a new wedding blog next month too which I am so excited about. But before I jump back into blogging and the year ahead I thought it would be nice to look back on the year gone by, which is something I do every year (you can read last years post here).

2017 was a strange year for us, it was not bad but it was not great either it was sort of average.

January

January was a quiet month for us, which is always the case after a busy December. We had no big days out or anything exciting planned, which was just as well really as I ended up in hospital after being attacked by my cat! It pounced on me for no reason whilst I was watching TV with Jacob, you know when you see those cat-attack videos on facebook? Well, it was just like that, the cat's fur stood up, its tail went bushy, its eyes went black and it just jumped on me bitting and scratching me. I ended up visiting my local minor injury unit at the hospital as the wounds would not stop bleeding and they sent me to the plastic surgery department to get it cleaned out as cat bits can be infectious, who knew!

February

February was another quiet month for us plagued by illness and lots of time at home. We started making progress on our new home, having moved in just before Christmas 2016. We had a new shower fitted and blinds fitted throughout the house, a year later and we still have so much to do with the house - it seems never-ending! Myself and the other half went for a nice meal at Dobson and Parnell on the Quayside and I learnt to cook tapas at Tapas Revolution. We had lots of soft-play visits with the kids and I took my teen to see Cirque Du Soleil at the arena. 

March 

March was yet another quiet month for us and you guessed it we were ill again! I did manage to go to the cinema to see Beauty and the Beast with my teen - which I loved! We had new carpets fitted in the house and we spent time sorting the house and garden out. Sophia went on her first nursery visit to the farm, which she loved and we had a quiet mothers day meal at home. 

Blog-wise things started getting busy and my teen reviewed Young Driver driving lessons which she really enjoyed and I will be booking her more lessons this year. We took the little two to review Ben & Holly Live show, my favourite part of blogging is definitely the nice experiences that I get to give my children. 

April 

April was a much busier month for us and no illness, although Jacob did eat a plastic toy which resulted in a trip to the hospital to get checked out. Jacob started football lessons with Little Kickers but it was short-lived as he was more interested in playing with the cones then the balls. We found out the little two had places at the local primary school for reception/ nursery (fingers crossed Jacob gets a reception place this year too). 

We worked with a few local attractions on day out reviews during April which was good fun. We visited Beamish, Whitehouse Farm and went on a BBC studio tour. I also attended a YO Sushi blogging event to celebrate their new menu launch. 

May 

May was a brilliant month for us, Sophia turned 4 and celebrated with a Wacky Warehouse birthday party. We also took her to Build a Bear and for a meal on her actual birthday which she loved. We had a little family mini-break in a caravan at Haven Berwick which we all really enjoyed. Sophia started at her special speech school two full days a week and it helped her so much with her speech problems and she absolutely loved attending.

Blog-wise we went to review the Dacia Magic rugby weekend at St James Park which was something different. I worked on lots of great campaigns and was busy blog-wise, overall May was just a wonderful month for us. 

June 

June was another amazing month for us as a family as we got engaged! I kind of knew it was going to happen and it was not the proposal I wanted at all but I still said yes. We picked a date (my late mums birthday) and booked a venue pretty much as soon as we got engaged and next June I will be getting married. We also booked our first family holiday abroad and we are off to Majorca in may which we are all so looking forward to. I also won flights to Portugal, sadly we couldn't go so my dad and my teen went instead and had a brilliant time. We also took the children on a Day out with Thomas which they seemed to enjoy. 

July 

This was a month full of highs and lows, we had a rather large unexpected bill which meant we didn't have much money left over to do anything fun this month. Our fridge freeze also died on us, meaning it was a rubbish start to the month. The little two graduated from nursery school and pre-school and we went to review Mister Maker live and the children were so happy they got to meet Mister Maker and get their photo taking with him. 

August

I love August as it means I get a whole month with the children at home, it was also Jacob's birthday and he turned three. We had a soft-play party and he had the best time with his little friends and we got him an orange bike which he specifically asked for (he loves the colour orange). We also had a few nice days out at the beach and local parks and it was nice having lots of quality family time together. 

Blog-wise I revisited Tapas Revolution to try out their new summer menu and I also visited Pizza Storm to try out their salads, both were delicious. 

September 

September saw Sophia start proper full-time school and Jacob started nursery school, it is so strange having all three children off to school, although Jacob only goes for three hours each morning. My teen went to Portugal for a few days with her grandad and had a wonderful time, I now really want to go as it sounds great. My dad turned 60 and we took him out for an Indian meal to celebrate. We also visited our first wedding fair and found a few suppliers we want to book for our upcoming wedding, exciting! 

October 

My teen Chloe turned 15 in October and we celebrated with a family meal at her favourite Italians. We went on a day out with Metro to see Sunderland Illuminations which we all really enjoyed. We went to Disney on Ice at the arena and I also went to another Thai cooking class this time at Chaophraya. We were all hit with norovirus and it took me weeks to recover from which was not pleasant at all. 

November 

November was a really busy month, it was my birthday although we did not do anything special this year I still had a nice day. We enjoyed a nice meal out at Cote Brassiere and a family meal at Toby Carvery and we also had afternoon tea with Santa at our local garden centre. I went behind the scenes at Mcdonalds and made my own Big Mac and even got my own McDonalds outfit to keep. 

December 

December was a crazy busy month for us, we ended up having work done to the house and it took three weeks to complete. We have had new electrics, kitchen and bathroom fitted, it looks so much better but was a nightmare to live through. I was also hit with norovirus for a second time, whilst we were getting a new bathroom fitted so that was no fun at all! 

We reviewed two pantomimes Cinderella and Snow White and we also visited Whitehouse Farms Winter Wonderland. The children had their nativities at school Sophia was a cowgirl and Jacob a wise man. The children were so excited for Christmas and we had such a lovely quiet Christmas day at home this year, just the five of us. I have really enjoyed having the children home over the holidays and spending time with them playing with their new toys, watching films and having the odd day out. 

We have so much to look forward to in 2018, we have our first family holiday abroad booked for May, Jacob will be starting school, we have more home renovations planned, as well as wedding planning, days out and lots of family time. Fingers crossed 2018 is everything I hope that it will be. 

How was your 2017?