🌸 August, What on Earth Happened to You?!

Hello my dears,

I’ve mentioned before that I rarely share anything personal here because, honestly, my life is usually very normal and, quite frankly, rather boring. And then August apparently heard me complaining and decided: “Oh, you want excitement? Say no more!”

Grab some popcorn, make yourself comfortable, and let’s dive into a little August recap… 🍿

I had already told you about the allergy/virus/whatever-it-was that I caught after coming back from our holidays. What I didn’t tell you was that, when we arrived home, we couldn’t even open the gate to get the car inside because… we had no electricity.

We had a short circuit at home and the electrical panel had tripped. I’m assuming it happened right at the beginning of our holiday because the state of the fridge and freezer… well, I really don’t need to explain that one, do I?

Everything was completely spoiled — and already covered in mould. And my daughters absolutely LOVE ice pops, so you can imagine what happened when they all melted and leaked everywhere. 😭

But, in the middle of all that, there is always a positive side: it could have been so much worse. We could have lost our home.

It was actually my husband’s computer that caused the short circuit. The table underneath it was completely blackened, and we were incredibly lucky that it didn’t start a fire.

So… lovely start to August!

🚗 And then came the car adventure…

My parents have a house in a small village that has been in our family for at least as long as my great-great-grandmother. They went there for a few days and, since my husband was working, I decided to take the girls and spend a couple of days with them.

Everything went perfectly. The trip there was great, we had a lovely time, and I even got to see one of my best friends. We had dinner together with our children 🥰

Luckily, I decided to stay one extra night rather than drive back to Lisbon alone with the girls at night. Thank goodness I did.

Because on the way home, my car broke down on the motorway, with approximately 110 km still to go.

Now, I have to admit something: I am absolutely useless when it comes to some practical things. One of the first things that went through my mind was: “Oh no. I don’t even know how to take my daughter’s car seat out and put it back in another car!”

And then I started imagining everything else: how long I would have to wait, my youngest getting hungry, then sleepy, then grumpy… basically, my brain went into complete panic mode. Thankfully, everything actually went incredibly well.

The gentleman from the tow truck and the lady from the taxi were absolutely wonderful. They helped me with everything, reassured me and kept telling me not to worry. I was genuinely so grateful to both of them.

The car went on the tow truck and the girls and I went home by taxi.

🔧 And the car is still giving me anxiety…

The car spent about a week and a half at the mechanic.

At the moment, we believe the main problem has been fixed. There was a damaged hose and a broken part inside the engine.

BUT…

The mechanic explained that he can’t guarantee yet that everything is completely resolved. When the car reaches very high temperatures, parts can expand and a leak may continue without being immediately noticeable.

One little detail: because I knew it was dangerous to stop on the motorway, I decided not to pull over immediately. I managed to drive another 10 km until I reached a service station, so there were actually quite a few kilometres where I was driving with the car in that condition. 😰 Looking back, I’m honestly very grateful that I managed to get there safely — especially with the girls in the car.

So now I have to keep testing the car and checking the water level every week and, for the time being, I’m driving around with my heart in my hands.

As I mentioned before, this really isn’t the best time for me to replace a car. The little bit of savings I have is there precisely so that, if something unexpected happens, I have something to fall back on — especially when it comes to paying for my daughters’ school.

And that brings me to another reason why I really, really need my car - It´s old but i love my car.

🏫 Why the car is so important to us

Until recently, my daughters went to a school about 5 minutes from home by car.

Unfortunately, my older daughter experienced bullying there. Three children repeatedly hit her and, at one point, they even put her coat in the toilet and urinated on it.

Eventually, we reached the point where we said enough is enough and went to speak to the school administration.

The response? We were told that she needed to be more independent and resilient.

Yes… you can imagine how well that conversation went. 🙃

We obviously weren’t happy with that response, and apparently the school wasn’t particularly happy with what we had to say either. The result was that my daughters were essentially “invited to leave” and their enrolment for the following school year was cancelled.

And this happened in June.

In Portugal, the school year starts in September, and by June the classes in private schools are generally already full. Public schools were also extremely difficult to get into at that point.

I spent nights crying because, during the day, I simply couldn’t do it in front of my girls.

Fortunately, through someone we know, we managed to find a new school for both girls. And honestly? They are much better there.

But there was a catch.

The monthly fee went from around €400 — at the time I was only paying for my older daughter because there is government support for children up to the age of two — to around €700 per child. For context, the minimum wage in Portugal is €920.

So when I tell you that I really depend on Patreon… unfortunately, I really do.

I would much rather have two jobs and know that my girls are somewhere they are happier and better looked after.

The new school is around 30 minutes away by car, and there is no direct public transport from where we live. Without a car, we would need to take three different forms of transport, taking approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes each way — and that doesn’t even include waiting times. And I would have to make that journey four times a day.

My husband has a car, but he works in the opposite direction and his working hours simply don’t fit with the school schedule.

So for now, it’s one week at a time and we’ll see how things go.

🤒 And because August clearly wasn’t finished with me…

I came back from my parents’ house with a horrible flu. Fever, body aches, headache… the whole package.

At that point I honestly thought: “I AM DONE WITH AUGUST.” I genuinely felt like screaming just to get everything out. Please, universe. Enough now.

🌿 But August wasn’t all bad!

In the middle of all these adventures, we did manage to take the girls to a few lovely places, and they absolutely loved them.

So, if any of you are thinking about visiting Portugal, I have two little recommendations for you:

🏡 Aldeia José Franco — Mafra

We also visited Aldeia José Franco, in Mafra, which is free to visit, and my daughters absolutely loved it.

There are also activities available for around €7 per person, including pottery our making bread. These activities require a minimum of 10 people and, apparently, it’s best to book around two weeks in advance by email.

I’ll leave some photos of this one too because it’s such a lovely little place to visit with children.

🪨 Grutas de Santo António

These caves are near Fátima and we really enjoyed visiting them.

The most expensive ticket is for adults, at €8, and the caves cover an area of approximately 6,000 m². The largest chamber is around 80 m × 50 m, with a maximum height of 43 metres. It’s a truly fascinating place and the girls loved it.

I’m leaving you some photos so you can have a little look. 🤎 - sorry for the poor quality!!!

And so…

September, welcome. 🌸 Please be kind to me.

I’m not asking for much. Just a quiet, boring, uneventful month.

I have lots of new ideas for the coming month and I’m already working on some of them, so I’m hoping September will bring us back to the things I actually enjoy — sharing new content with you. 🤎

Thank you, as always, for being here, for supporting my work and for all the kindness and affection you show me. It genuinely means more than you know. ❤️

And now I want to hear from you…

Have you ever had one of those months where absolutely everything seems to happen at once?
A car breaking down? A household disaster? A completely unexpected problem? Something that made you want to pull your hair out?

And if you actually made it this far through this incredibly long post… please tell me in the comments and accept my congratulations! 👏
Because honestly, this may be one of the longest posts I’ve ever written! ❤️🌸

With love,
Dinha