Recently I was tagged by Hannah over at Budding Smiles to write my Happiness Non-Negotiables list.

The non-negotiable is a list of things in our day to day lives that we absolutely must make time for in order to be happy and was started by Katie from Pouting in Heels.

I’m a big list maker – lists upon lists of things to do and all too often things I want to do for myself get put further and further down the list because as a mum and a wife – my boys and my husband come first.

However, I have come to realise that happiness starts with being happy in myself so I’ve had a good think about what should be on my non-negotiables list.

Here we go:

Tea

I simply cannot start the day properly without a good cup of tea! No matter how hectic my mornings are I always have to make time for tea.

Taking Photos

I do this A LOT already (who doesn’t nowadays?) However, I don’t take many of myself and the boys plus Mr H never seems to have his phone on him at the right time to take pics. This usually means I end up with lots of photos of my family without me being in them. From now on I will try to regularly take snaps with me being a part of the photo too!

Kisses

This is most definitely a non-negotiable. No matter what kind of day we’ve had I will always shower my boys with kisses before bedtime. It makes me so thankful to have them in my life and they are most definitely my biggest achievement.

Always kiss your children goodnight,
even if they’re already asleep

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Date nights

They are not as often as I would like but they are so very important for both us to spend time with each other minus the children – even if we do end up talking about the boys! Our usual date night of choice is dinner at our favourite restaurant followed by the cinema. I’m working on turning this into a monthly thing (sister I hope you are reading this! J )

Time Out for myself

Just as it’s important to have time as a couple it is also important to have time for myself. I work four days a week and anytime outside of work, I feel I should be spending with my family but I know it’s healthy to have “me time”. I’m just not very good at it.

I always feel happier when I’ve had the time to paint my nails, snuggle down with a good book or relax with a massage. Now if only I could afford to have one every week that would definitely make me a very happy lady!

So that’s it – my list of non -negotiables. What would be on your list?

I would now like to pass this onto the following bloggers:

• Franca from A Moment With Franca
• Laura from Laura’s Lovely Blog
• Louise from Birds and Lilies
• Stacey from Stacey In The Sticks
• Zara from Mojo Blogs
• Rachel from Coffee, Cake and Kids

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