It is great being part of the blogging network social sites. Yes they take extra time and effort to keep maintained and up to date, but you meet some great people and it is a great and easy way to keep up with lots of current blog posts.
I am part of the fabulous Britmums, but am also part of a couple of USA based ones and have met some great blogging mums on those too. It is through these blogs that I get to see some of the most beautiful photographs of happy families in magnificent winter wonderland snow scenes. These are what you have as a stereotypical scene of the winter months, however looking out of my lovely living room window, yes it is nippy but what I can see is more what I wold call autumn. In January.
Most of the trees in my garden are still smothered in brown dying foliage, the paths are still slippery and covered with mushy leaves and my parents are still complaining that despite having no trees in their front yard, they have a bag full of nature to sweep up every day. This got me thinking even more about time, something I have been doing a lot of lately. It seems strange to not have bare tree twigs outside my door which is common to these deep winter months and with myself not being a lover of the snow (yes it looks very pretty at first fall but is deeply impractical for getting on with your day to day life) I am kind of thankful that it is missing.
I do think in a weird way though we are 'missing our seasons' - for whatever reason, luck, environmental, the ozone, October in Blighty was practically balmy and I don't think I got my winter coat out until December and have barely needed a scarf, but when you are used to the four clear seasons, as we are, it all feels out of sorts.
It made me think about my life to date, and depending on what stage I was at has depended on how I have looked at 'time'. I remember as a child the six weeks holidays stretching forever, a two week holiday in the summer really did feel like a long break away. As I reached my teens years terms seemed to last forever and the vacation periods flew by. When I started work life was Monday to Friday, 9 - 5, with the weekend barely lasting two minutes (with not enough time to shake off the hangovers).
When I had my first baby time rolled into one and I struggled to know if it was day or night let alone what day it was. Then my baby started school and I was back to working in terms again, frantically trying to ensure all the right things were in place for each one and arranging appropriate childcare for the holidays which seemed to come around and equally go super fast.
And now, with a Husband and multiple children life flies by at a rate of knots, the three school terms all start and end in the blink of an eye, summer holidays are enjoyed and passed too soon, holidays are booked, taken and talked about before the washing and ironing is even done. All of a sudden I find myself in my 30's and having thoughts such as; how can I ensure that I don't miss a second of what is going on with the children because they won't be children for long but also ensure that I do the things that I have always wanted to do and achieve as an individual aswell. Will I get it all fitted in?
Now, the world and economy that we live in really doesn't make it possible to say 'Sod work, lets all live together in a happy family world and disappear off to see the world' we have to be realistic, and to make the most of it we need to find a balance, of family life, children time, husband and wife time and 'me' time. And most of the time, there isn't enough time to do that easily (time, time, time!).
It is a struggle, one that finds its way into most families I know. It has raised its head recently to us, as is clear in my last few blog posts. And so we blindly canter along in the pace of UK life (pretty fast), trying to make the most of what we are doing with our lives and trying to make time to do the right things to make memories.
I remember reading a piece of writing about time some years ago and not taking much notice of it but I have been thinking about it of late. It was a piece on what time means to different people, for example a tenth of a second that is gone in the blink of an eye for most is the difference between gold and silver for an elite athlete. That one night for a couple in love is gone to soon but for a women in labour in a hospital ward is not gone soon enough. A month for someone that has a long term prison sentence is nothing, but for the parent of an ill child or a premature baby seems like a lifetime.
With my husbands health scares (multiple) at the end of last year we realised more prominently (I think everyone is aware, just every now and again something happens to bring it to the fore-front of your mind) that life is short, children are only children for a short time and babies even shorter, and although things such as sleep deprivation, money worries, work stress can cause snappy, snippy moments, keep them to just that, moments and enjoy the rest of your time with the family you are blessed to have.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Sunday, 8 January 2012
The Plan - January
In my last post I posed the question of whether expecting to have any 'non mummy / wife' time when you have a young (i.e babies not in school) family was in fact asking 'Too Much?', and was our cribbing about not having time to write / run / play golf etc was out of line.
I had an unequivocal response that in fact 'No, it most certainly is not too much to ask'. The general consensus was that if you didn't, you would drive yourself insane and to remember that we were individual people in our own right before we either had children or got married and we were entitled to keep a smidgen of that without feeling the 'parent / partner' guilt and that it was just a case of compromising and arranging suitable dates and times to do these 'extra curricular activities'.
Therefore I am moving forward with the idea of my '2012 Year Plan' and in fact am going to post a monthly plan that I am intending to work with in order to see as many of our 'Aims and Hope for 2012' as possible fulfilled.
Thus was born 'The Plan' posts and we shall start with January. This is sort of, I feel, in line with the Grooving Mum's initiative and so I hope to be able to share these links with Kate On Thin Ice and I hope it gives others inspiration and motivation too. I 'aim' to link the results of the previous months plan as the precursor to the next so that I can see at the end of the year how we / I have done. My, this is the most thorough I have ever managed to get with 'New Year Resolutions' if that is what you want to call them!
So here we go, for January I am going to am to :
Personal
* Publish at least three blog posts per week, and if I can get really super good write extra and 'programme' (go me) them to publish themselves throughout the week
* Fit two runs a week in and see if I think I will be get up to standard for the half marathon I optimistically booked myself on to back in October (which is March - sorry just picking myself up laughing off the floor) but at least I will have tried
* Fit one afternoon spa session in - it's January, it's miserable and cold and a little indulgence might go a long way
Family
* Start reading with J1 again and try and find out the best way of helping him start to learn to read, rather than just remembering the whole story from memory, although that is pretty impressive too!
* Continue to encourage J2 to sit on the potty first thing in the morning and before and after bath time
* Cook at least '4' real meals a week
I think three aims on both the 'Personal' and 'Family' front is acceptable to try out for the first month. Look out for 'The Plan - February' (...coming soon... cue over excitable music) to see how we / I get on.
I had an unequivocal response that in fact 'No, it most certainly is not too much to ask'. The general consensus was that if you didn't, you would drive yourself insane and to remember that we were individual people in our own right before we either had children or got married and we were entitled to keep a smidgen of that without feeling the 'parent / partner' guilt and that it was just a case of compromising and arranging suitable dates and times to do these 'extra curricular activities'.
Therefore I am moving forward with the idea of my '2012 Year Plan' and in fact am going to post a monthly plan that I am intending to work with in order to see as many of our 'Aims and Hope for 2012' as possible fulfilled.
Thus was born 'The Plan' posts and we shall start with January. This is sort of, I feel, in line with the Grooving Mum's initiative and so I hope to be able to share these links with Kate On Thin Ice and I hope it gives others inspiration and motivation too. I 'aim' to link the results of the previous months plan as the precursor to the next so that I can see at the end of the year how we / I have done. My, this is the most thorough I have ever managed to get with 'New Year Resolutions' if that is what you want to call them!
So here we go, for January I am going to am to :
Personal
* Publish at least three blog posts per week, and if I can get really super good write extra and 'programme' (go me) them to publish themselves throughout the week
* Fit two runs a week in and see if I think I will be get up to standard for the half marathon I optimistically booked myself on to back in October (which is March - sorry just picking myself up laughing off the floor) but at least I will have tried
* Fit one afternoon spa session in - it's January, it's miserable and cold and a little indulgence might go a long way
Family
* Start reading with J1 again and try and find out the best way of helping him start to learn to read, rather than just remembering the whole story from memory, although that is pretty impressive too!
* Continue to encourage J2 to sit on the potty first thing in the morning and before and after bath time
* Cook at least '4' real meals a week
I think three aims on both the 'Personal' and 'Family' front is acceptable to try out for the first month. Look out for 'The Plan - February' (...coming soon... cue over excitable music) to see how we / I get on.
Friday, 6 January 2012
A Simple Question - Do I Want Too Much?
A few days ago I put together my 'Aims and Hopes for 2012' - and that is all they are; things that I would like to aim to do throughout the 366 days that make up this year.
It was quite a comprehensive list granted, I had given it a lot of thought but now I am thinking was it was more of a 'wish list' than an attempt at putting together what I believed could actually be achieved in one year? Should I have made that the first draft and then looked at it with my realistic head on and narrowed it down to say 4 or 5 items?
Should I (by happy choice) in my role of wife and mother have only put the 'family' ones on the list and put my personal options to one side until the days when I do not have small children that are dependent on me 24/7? By putting them on a list for this year, am I being selfish to think I should have the time to try and achieve them? I question this as my list did seem to be quite lengthy compared to some others I got to share, but, moreover I have been mulling over a conversation The Hubby and I had in the car on Bank Holiday Monday.
The Hubby and I, since the move to our 'period' house have become quite interested in attending antique fairs and shops, I in particular have always had a massive interest in vintage toys and dolls and so have been happy that this new 'hobby' we have acquired can be something we do as a family (even J2 will sit in his buggy with a drink and snack for half hour while we browse). However on the car journey to the latest jaunt on a chilly January bank holiday The Hubby dared to mention the word 'Golf'.
The Hubby is (read 'was') a very keen Golfer, and to be fair a damn good one, and if I am honest that was a really attractive quality, that he had a hobby that he was really good at and committed too. However the downside of Golf is the time element. All fine and dandy if you are young, free and single, or even married but childless or if not childless the children are of an age where they are not hanging on mumma's shirt tails every minute of every day (i.e in school). Plus it is quite an expensive hobby, Golf Club memberships are in my opinion extortionate (to the normal working mans salary) especially if you do not have the time to really make use of it.
I explained this thought process of mine to the Hubby, not in the logical and proper manner as just eloquently done in this blog, no instead I bitch snapped something about it not being fine that he would want to spend the small amount of spare time he has swanking around on the Golf Course instead of with his family, or shocker giving me a break from the childcare element of our relationship. He, in his usual patient self, said he understood that but what he was suggesting was a Country Membership (or something like that, golf blurb is lost on me) whereby it allowed him to have a Handicap at a club and play in some one off tournaments, that were usually in the week so he could just be there instead of work and technically it would make no difference to the childcare situation.
This infuriated me more, he had found a way to have his hobby, he could trade one of his 'working days' in for Golf, when would I ever get to do that for anything leisure related in terms of my full time job of looking after the children and home? J2 goes to nursery for one 'school hours' day per week (just to clarify after dropping him off I get in at about 09.30, I then have to leave to pick him up at 14.30 so get 5 hours) so that I, in that time, can; clean, iron, get the food shopping, tidy and sort and do the business accounts (for more on this sort of idea see my blog post 'What's not on the list of things to do'). Given that I can usually get 2 or 3 of those things done in that time you get the gist that 'extra curricular' activities do not get a look in.
At this point you would think that I am writing this blog to bitch about my life choices of being a SAHM and the fact that The Hubby wants to do enjoyable hobbies / activities. No that is not the case. Because what The Hubby was requesting was absolutely and perfectly reasonable. If I worked full time and was the bread-winner I too would expect and feel that I was entitled to spend some time and money on a hobby, something to enjoy and look forward too. However, we have children who need us all the time and the little time that isn't spent at work, surely, they need. Likewise, when I am spending that 95% of my time caring for the children I feel I am also entitled to a break and some time to do something for me, that isn't child or family related. But those things come after 'family time together' which doesn't leave enough time for us both to be entitled to 'do our own thing' does it.
The Hubby and I have had a conversation and also, now looking over my 'aims and hopes list' I have been left thinking 'I am so selfish, I want to try and write, take photographs, run, why should I want those things when I am a mother to a young and beautiful family?' Shouldn't that be enough; Do I want too much?
So where do we draw the line? What is in fact fair, to us, the adults and decision makers as individuals and 'the family'. Right now with young children that we made the full and conscious decision to have together, should we be grumping about not getting to the time to do activities that, in effect when we decided to have a young family, we said goodbye to having the time and money to do? Babies and children are those things for such a short time that should we put everything on hold until the time comes when our children decide they do not need us quite so intensely. Or by not giving ourselves some time to remember that we are in fact individuals as well as 'Husband and Wife' and 'Mum and Dad' are we being detrimental to our family? Does not taking some time out, to do something small for ourselves instead of for each other or the children, make for a big problem in the future? Having something to look forward to, whether it be a family related activity or individual surely makes us happier on a day to day basis, isn't that why we plan trips out and holidays?
Most of the time I feel empowered by the fact that even though as a wife and mother I can still see 'me' as the person I was when my children came into the world and my husband met me for the first time. That I can still remember what I wanted to get out of my life time 'before family', but should that change completely now I have a Husband and Children? The same can be said for my Husband.
I guess because I consider the things I would like to achieve as small (I do not want to disappear off around the world or spend a year working on a cruise ship or be away from them for any length of time) a blog post here, a race day there and for the Hubby a mid week tournament a couple of times a year that it is too much to ask? Not really.
So why does it seem it?
It was quite a comprehensive list granted, I had given it a lot of thought but now I am thinking was it was more of a 'wish list' than an attempt at putting together what I believed could actually be achieved in one year? Should I have made that the first draft and then looked at it with my realistic head on and narrowed it down to say 4 or 5 items?
Do I want too much?
Should I (by happy choice) in my role of wife and mother have only put the 'family' ones on the list and put my personal options to one side until the days when I do not have small children that are dependent on me 24/7? By putting them on a list for this year, am I being selfish to think I should have the time to try and achieve them? I question this as my list did seem to be quite lengthy compared to some others I got to share, but, moreover I have been mulling over a conversation The Hubby and I had in the car on Bank Holiday Monday.
The Hubby and I, since the move to our 'period' house have become quite interested in attending antique fairs and shops, I in particular have always had a massive interest in vintage toys and dolls and so have been happy that this new 'hobby' we have acquired can be something we do as a family (even J2 will sit in his buggy with a drink and snack for half hour while we browse). However on the car journey to the latest jaunt on a chilly January bank holiday The Hubby dared to mention the word 'Golf'.
The Hubby is (read 'was') a very keen Golfer, and to be fair a damn good one, and if I am honest that was a really attractive quality, that he had a hobby that he was really good at and committed too. However the downside of Golf is the time element. All fine and dandy if you are young, free and single, or even married but childless or if not childless the children are of an age where they are not hanging on mumma's shirt tails every minute of every day (i.e in school). Plus it is quite an expensive hobby, Golf Club memberships are in my opinion extortionate (to the normal working mans salary) especially if you do not have the time to really make use of it.
I explained this thought process of mine to the Hubby, not in the logical and proper manner as just eloquently done in this blog, no instead I bitch snapped something about it not being fine that he would want to spend the small amount of spare time he has swanking around on the Golf Course instead of with his family, or shocker giving me a break from the childcare element of our relationship. He, in his usual patient self, said he understood that but what he was suggesting was a Country Membership (or something like that, golf blurb is lost on me) whereby it allowed him to have a Handicap at a club and play in some one off tournaments, that were usually in the week so he could just be there instead of work and technically it would make no difference to the childcare situation.
This infuriated me more, he had found a way to have his hobby, he could trade one of his 'working days' in for Golf, when would I ever get to do that for anything leisure related in terms of my full time job of looking after the children and home? J2 goes to nursery for one 'school hours' day per week (just to clarify after dropping him off I get in at about 09.30, I then have to leave to pick him up at 14.30 so get 5 hours) so that I, in that time, can; clean, iron, get the food shopping, tidy and sort and do the business accounts (for more on this sort of idea see my blog post 'What's not on the list of things to do'). Given that I can usually get 2 or 3 of those things done in that time you get the gist that 'extra curricular' activities do not get a look in.
At this point you would think that I am writing this blog to bitch about my life choices of being a SAHM and the fact that The Hubby wants to do enjoyable hobbies / activities. No that is not the case. Because what The Hubby was requesting was absolutely and perfectly reasonable. If I worked full time and was the bread-winner I too would expect and feel that I was entitled to spend some time and money on a hobby, something to enjoy and look forward too. However, we have children who need us all the time and the little time that isn't spent at work, surely, they need. Likewise, when I am spending that 95% of my time caring for the children I feel I am also entitled to a break and some time to do something for me, that isn't child or family related. But those things come after 'family time together' which doesn't leave enough time for us both to be entitled to 'do our own thing' does it.
The Hubby and I have had a conversation and also, now looking over my 'aims and hopes list' I have been left thinking 'I am so selfish, I want to try and write, take photographs, run, why should I want those things when I am a mother to a young and beautiful family?' Shouldn't that be enough; Do I want too much?
So where do we draw the line? What is in fact fair, to us, the adults and decision makers as individuals and 'the family'. Right now with young children that we made the full and conscious decision to have together, should we be grumping about not getting to the time to do activities that, in effect when we decided to have a young family, we said goodbye to having the time and money to do? Babies and children are those things for such a short time that should we put everything on hold until the time comes when our children decide they do not need us quite so intensely. Or by not giving ourselves some time to remember that we are in fact individuals as well as 'Husband and Wife' and 'Mum and Dad' are we being detrimental to our family? Does not taking some time out, to do something small for ourselves instead of for each other or the children, make for a big problem in the future? Having something to look forward to, whether it be a family related activity or individual surely makes us happier on a day to day basis, isn't that why we plan trips out and holidays?
Most of the time I feel empowered by the fact that even though as a wife and mother I can still see 'me' as the person I was when my children came into the world and my husband met me for the first time. That I can still remember what I wanted to get out of my life time 'before family', but should that change completely now I have a Husband and Children? The same can be said for my Husband.
I guess because I consider the things I would like to achieve as small (I do not want to disappear off around the world or spend a year working on a cruise ship or be away from them for any length of time) a blog post here, a race day there and for the Hubby a mid week tournament a couple of times a year that it is too much to ask? Not really.
So why does it seem it?
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
The 2012 Plan (Grooving Mum Project with Kate on Thin Ice)
Having reviewed the good, the bad and the ugly (although in fairness there wasn't too much bad or ugly in 2011, it was a pretty damn good year overall!) it is time to think about what I would like myself and my family to achieve in 2012.
I am going to do this as my first post linking to the Grooving Mum's movement over at Kate on Thin Ice as this is one of my 'blogger' aims for this year.
2012 Aims
Family
- Continue to encourage J1 to try new activities and adventures to help with his fine and gross motor skills and his speech
- Be more vigilent with J1's home physiothearapy, even though he complains
- Help J1 school fundraising group
- Try and find new and suitable activities for the whole family to participate in at weekends
- Potty train J2
- Start weekly swim sessions with J2 again
- Cook 'real' meals at least 4 times a week and re-start my favourite receipes folder
- Bake something new with the boys at least once a month
- Start some basic learning plans for J2 for towards the end of the year
- Do house filing once a month and keep on top of it all
- Start saving for a big family holiday
- Child - proof new garden for the kids to use in spring
Personal
- Try and find a bit more personal time to do the following :
- Make at least 3 blog posts per week
- Write first draft of my series of childrens books
- Read at least 1 book a month
- Start taking more photographs and learn how to edit them
- Try and run twice a week, establish some safe routes
- Continue to learn about gardening and possibly go to The Chelsea Flower Show
- Continue to try and make an effort with my appearance as it is making me feel better
- Enjoy any available one to one time with Hubby and take opportunities to go out
- Treat self to a spa afternoon once every 3 months
- Plan one weekend away a year, just Hubby and Me
- Try and stop being so Gung-Ho with 'No' to new ideas and suggestions (although I do normally come round to them eventually)
- Try and be more positive on believing in what I can achieve
- Start action planning again, always achieve more that way - this is a good start!
I am going to do this as my first post linking to the Grooving Mum's movement over at Kate on Thin Ice as this is one of my 'blogger' aims for this year.
2012 Aims
Family
- Continue to encourage J1 to try new activities and adventures to help with his fine and gross motor skills and his speech
- Be more vigilent with J1's home physiothearapy, even though he complains
- Help J1 school fundraising group
- Try and find new and suitable activities for the whole family to participate in at weekends
- Potty train J2
- Start weekly swim sessions with J2 again
- Cook 'real' meals at least 4 times a week and re-start my favourite receipes folder
- Bake something new with the boys at least once a month
- Start some basic learning plans for J2 for towards the end of the year
- Do house filing once a month and keep on top of it all
- Start saving for a big family holiday
- Child - proof new garden for the kids to use in spring
Personal
- Try and find a bit more personal time to do the following :
- Make at least 3 blog posts per week
- Write first draft of my series of childrens books
- Read at least 1 book a month
- Start taking more photographs and learn how to edit them
- Try and run twice a week, establish some safe routes
- Continue to learn about gardening and possibly go to The Chelsea Flower Show
- Continue to try and make an effort with my appearance as it is making me feel better
- Enjoy any available one to one time with Hubby and take opportunities to go out
- Treat self to a spa afternoon once every 3 months
- Plan one weekend away a year, just Hubby and Me
- Try and stop being so Gung-Ho with 'No' to new ideas and suggestions (although I do normally come round to them eventually)
- Try and be more positive on believing in what I can achieve
- Start action planning again, always achieve more that way - this is a good start!
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Highs and Lows from 2011 (Linking with Kate on Thin Ice)
The inspirational Kate over at Kate on Thin Ice posed an excellent blog post (see blog post title) that I thought would be a good start to the new year to join in with. In my last blog post Musings on New Year I noted that I would review my year and think about what I would like achieve in 2012. I haven't got round to doing that to date having hosted part of Christmas and NYE, a very good excuse but excuse never-the-less.
Then chatting to my fabulous friend today he asked the question that billions have been trying to fashion an answer to today; What do I want from 2012? What can 2012 bring me? Well 2012 on it's own obviously can't bring me bugger all. Of course the burning question is what do I, and my family want to achieve in 2012? I like this question, it indicates an essential need to plan and I love planning.
But in order to that, first must come the review of 2011 which is a great way of summing up the year for the boys in the future, which is kind of the whole point of this blogging lark anyway. So here, guided by the questions of Kate on Thin Ice, we go :
1. What was your happiest event?
The happiest and biggest event of 2011 was getting married. It was as fabulous as I could have only dreamt it could be and every second of the day is a happy memory and being married is really rather cool!
2. What was the saddest thing to happen?
The loss of a friend against her long, hard and painful struggle against cancer leaving a devastated husband and 6 year old daughter.
3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?
My husband getting rushed into hospital and all sorts of complications arising from it which kept, and still is keeping him under par.
4. Who let you down?
To be honest I can't think of a person or situation that let me down as such this year apart from the Doctors regarding my husband.
5. Who supported you?
Our family situation sees my eldest son (J1) suffer with Cerebral Palsy, and sometimes life for him (and us) can be very difficult and frustrating. We get through that with the wonderful and amazing support of our family and close friends.
6. Tell us one thing you learnt?
That you can achieve more than you think you can and sometimes you just need to compromise.
7. Tell us one thing that made you laugh?
Lots of things have made me laugh this year (again very thankful for that) but the one that still continues to make me laugh is that 2011 saw J1, my eldest little duckling, develop some 'tude (attitude!)
8. Tell us one thing that made you cry?
Sometimes the whole situation of watching J1 struggle (and sometimes fail) to be able to do tasks that are so simple for everyone else just becomes too much to handle and the tears will flow. Then I have to pick myself and think 'We'll get him there'. My son's school show this Christmas also made me shed a tear too, seeing what those children achieved was just amazing.
9. Tell us three things your child / children did to make you feel proud?
* J1 started to sing songs
* J2 started to walk
* J1 and J2 started to really bond as brothers (cuddles and tolerance of each other)
10. Tell us one thing that made you proud of yourself?
I started my blog and thus started writing again, something I had missed and now cherish.
11. Tell us one challenge you overcome?
My own fears of publishing my writing in a blog. For at least 18 months the fear of what other people would think stopped me.
12. Tell us three things you would like to change about your life in 2012?
I wouldn't necessarily say that I want to 'change' anything about my life in 2012 because I have a pretty amazing life with a fantastic and supportive husband and two feisty and gorgeous children - who could ask for more than that eh?! However I would like to achieve :
* More quality family time and finding more suitable (for a child with disabilities and a toddler - not all that easy...) spare time activities
* Continue to blog, learn and build friendships via it and also take the plunge and put 'pen to paper' and write the series of children's books I have been thinking about for 3 years
* To not feel so guilty about taking some me time or adult time with the hubby and enjoy being child free on the occasions it gets offered
The next part of the blog post by Kate says to tag some other fabulous bloggers; therefore these are my most favourite blogging beauties of 2011 have been...
Claire at http://mummyplum.blogspot.com/
Kelly at http://ourfootprintsontheworld.blogspot.com/
Jordan Marie at http://holdingontothelittlethings.typepad.com/blog/
Ellen at http://www.lovethatmax.com/
http://looking4bluesky.blogspot.com/
And of course Kate at http://kateonthinice.wordpress.com/
Then chatting to my fabulous friend today he asked the question that billions have been trying to fashion an answer to today; What do I want from 2012? What can 2012 bring me? Well 2012 on it's own obviously can't bring me bugger all. Of course the burning question is what do I, and my family want to achieve in 2012? I like this question, it indicates an essential need to plan and I love planning.
But in order to that, first must come the review of 2011 which is a great way of summing up the year for the boys in the future, which is kind of the whole point of this blogging lark anyway. So here, guided by the questions of Kate on Thin Ice, we go :
1. What was your happiest event?
The happiest and biggest event of 2011 was getting married. It was as fabulous as I could have only dreamt it could be and every second of the day is a happy memory and being married is really rather cool!
2. What was the saddest thing to happen?
The loss of a friend against her long, hard and painful struggle against cancer leaving a devastated husband and 6 year old daughter.
3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?
My husband getting rushed into hospital and all sorts of complications arising from it which kept, and still is keeping him under par.
4. Who let you down?
To be honest I can't think of a person or situation that let me down as such this year apart from the Doctors regarding my husband.
5. Who supported you?
Our family situation sees my eldest son (J1) suffer with Cerebral Palsy, and sometimes life for him (and us) can be very difficult and frustrating. We get through that with the wonderful and amazing support of our family and close friends.
6. Tell us one thing you learnt?
That you can achieve more than you think you can and sometimes you just need to compromise.
7. Tell us one thing that made you laugh?
Lots of things have made me laugh this year (again very thankful for that) but the one that still continues to make me laugh is that 2011 saw J1, my eldest little duckling, develop some 'tude (attitude!)
8. Tell us one thing that made you cry?
Sometimes the whole situation of watching J1 struggle (and sometimes fail) to be able to do tasks that are so simple for everyone else just becomes too much to handle and the tears will flow. Then I have to pick myself and think 'We'll get him there'. My son's school show this Christmas also made me shed a tear too, seeing what those children achieved was just amazing.
9. Tell us three things your child / children did to make you feel proud?
* J1 started to sing songs
* J2 started to walk
* J1 and J2 started to really bond as brothers (cuddles and tolerance of each other)
10. Tell us one thing that made you proud of yourself?
I started my blog and thus started writing again, something I had missed and now cherish.
11. Tell us one challenge you overcome?
My own fears of publishing my writing in a blog. For at least 18 months the fear of what other people would think stopped me.
12. Tell us three things you would like to change about your life in 2012?
I wouldn't necessarily say that I want to 'change' anything about my life in 2012 because I have a pretty amazing life with a fantastic and supportive husband and two feisty and gorgeous children - who could ask for more than that eh?! However I would like to achieve :
* More quality family time and finding more suitable (for a child with disabilities and a toddler - not all that easy...) spare time activities
* Continue to blog, learn and build friendships via it and also take the plunge and put 'pen to paper' and write the series of children's books I have been thinking about for 3 years
* To not feel so guilty about taking some me time or adult time with the hubby and enjoy being child free on the occasions it gets offered
The next part of the blog post by Kate says to tag some other fabulous bloggers; therefore these are my most favourite blogging beauties of 2011 have been...
Claire at http://mummyplum.blogspot.com/
Kelly at http://ourfootprintsontheworld.blogspot.com/
Jordan Marie at http://holdingontothelittlethings.typepad.com/blog/
Ellen at http://www.lovethatmax.com/
http://looking4bluesky.blogspot.com/
And of course Kate at http://kateonthinice.wordpress.com/
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