It's been another busy week for us that makes me wonder where on earth the time has gone but as always there has been plenty to smile about.

• Date night – last night me and Mr T went out for dinner just the two of us. It's something that we said we were going to try and do more often after our babymoon a few weeks ago but haven't quite managed (unless the odd Friday evening trip to IKEA counts? No, didn't think so!) We have no excuse either, we could easily go out most Friday evenings, Tinker is at her dad's and Totsy is fast asleep by half 7 and Milly or Matty are usually happy to babysit so we are lucky that we can go out with very little organising. However by the time Friday evening rolls around sometimes the lure of getting into PJs ridiculously early and snuggling on the sofa in front of the TV is often stronger than the desire to wear actual clothes, make ourselves presentable for the outside world and leave the house! However last night we made the effort, I even wore heels and an underwired bra (which at 33 weeks pregnant with more than a passing resemblance to a hippo feels like quite an achievement, haha!) and we had a really lovely time. Even though we had spent most of the day sitting side by side in our office at work, it was so nice to have some quality time together, we both kept our phones out of sight and had a conversation about something other than kids and work (well, ok we did talk about kids and work a bit too!) And I can neither confirm or deny that we skipped dessert and got McFlurry's from McDonalds drivethru on the way home instead because we are super fancy like that! 

• Forest school – on Wednesday morning I took Totsy to the first Forest School session that has started in our village run by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. On the day we had torrential rain but decided to brave it anyway – after all it's only water! We had arranged to meet Hannah our childminder there too with Totsy's little playmate who is exactly the same age and I did wonder if we would be the only ones there because of the dire weather but there was a few others who braved it too so that was nice. The session took place in a local wooded area, it was very unstructured and the kids could choose their activities, hunting for bugs, playing in the mud kitchen, digging in the mud, playing in the swing or hammock, having a drink or snack at the picnic table or just running around splashing in muddy puddles (which was a definite favourite for Totsy!) Despite the fact that the rain was absolutely relentless it was really good fun and made me realise that getting out in the rain can be just as much fun as being out in the sunshine. Watching Totsy laughing her head off as she jumped in all the puddles and ran around in the 'swishy swoshy' long wet grass was lovely and we will definitely be going back regularly (though I'm pretty sure Totsy is going to be disappointed if there aren't any puddles next week!)

• My test results – As I mentioned in my last pregnancy update  I had to have a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) and other blood tests this week due to having polyhydramnios (increased amniotic fluid around baby). I went in to the Maternity Assessment Unit early on Tuesday morning after not eating or drinking anything other than a few sips of water since the night before. I had to have blood taken, then drink just over a bottle of Lucozade (which I've got to be honest, is not great on an empty stomach) then not do anything for two hours before having another blood test. Fortunately I had a phone call later that evening to say all my results had come back clear (to be honest I was expecting them to be ok, but you just never know!) 

• Shugborough – on Sunday we decided to make use of our National Trust memberships and visit Shugborough Hall which is now fully under the care of the National Trust. We have been loads before, we used to live really close by and it's one of Milly's favourites as she has many happy childhood memories there (and it's probably where her love of history and heritage first began). The weather forecast on Sunday was a bit of a mixed bag but actually we had lovely sunshine with only the occasional odd spot of rain. We took a picnic, had a look around the servants quarters, wandered around the beautiful gardens, picked about a hundred dandelion clocks in the fields, watched the boats on the canal (just outside Shugborough estate grounds) which the girls found fascinating (though they couldn't understand why we couldn't just get on one!) and Mr T and the girls climbed a tree (which involved Mr T nearly putting his back out and almost getting stuck up there!) Of course when it was time to go back to the car Tinker came over all grumpy and was so tired she couldn't possibly walk another step so it took a lot of coercing (and quite a lot of eye-rolling and muttering under our breath) from us to get her to keep moving but that's just par for the course! 

Keep smiling x