#MeAndMine - A Family Portrait…The Blogiversary Edition (December)

Today marks the day I started blogging.

3 years ago!

Such a lot has happened in those 3 years.

Good and bad.

2013 has been a strange year.

Personally it's been good. Apart from a bad bout of food poisoning which wiped most of September and October out we've had another amazing holiday to Orlando and we also moved to our dream house. We love it here SO much.

I've also struggled though. Struggled to make sense of a cruel world. Struggled to know some of my best friends, close friends and fellow bloggers have been going through such unbearably hard times. 2013 has been such a hard year for so many.

I've tried to stay grounded for the sake of Matt and the kids but it's been hard. 

I've been torn between feeling so low because of all that's happened and trying to make our lives more fun and exciting - creating more memories. I still struggle with this a lot.

The lovely Lucy from Dear Beautiful started Me And Mine at the beginning of the year and I was lucky enough to discover it in April. It's my favourite linky of all time. Such a simple idea but one that makes such you capture complete family moments forever. Memories are what matter and I know that now.

I've thought about quitting on my blog but I just can't. I started this blog as somewhere to document my thoughts, my life, my world. If something was to happen to me I want this little piece of me to live on.

3 years and 420 posts later I'm still here.

I have plans for my blog. Plans to document the life of my kids more. Plans to talk more about our lives, our home, our future. Plans to blog more. Plans to join back in with Silent Sunday. I hope I make those plans a reality.

You know, in 3 years of blogging I've never written about Christmas. Not once.

That makes me feel really sad.

We had a lovely Christmas Day this year. There were 10 of us. Yes, it was hectic. Yes, it was noisy. Yes, it was hard work. But despite this it was lovely. We were two families brought together by Matt and I and the kids. We made some lovely memories that I will treasure.

It was perfect.

I had plans to ask someone to take a family photo of us on Christmas Day but it didn't happen. I forgot in all the busyness of it all. So, these photos were taken yesterday (I know, I know…nothing like leaving it to the last minute!). I've been suffering with a bad cough/cold and MC has had a bad cough too. But we're happy.

They are the last photos of our little family in 2013 so despite them not being perfect to the outside world - they are perfect to me.

Now head over to the lovely Lucy's blog for Me & Mine end of year loveliness 

2 Years Of Blogging TODAY!

I still can't believe that exactly 2 years ago today I wrote my very first crap blog post. Yes, it's my 2 year Blogoversary today.

2 years.

2 YEARS!

What a 2 years it's been.

I've laughed, I've loved, I've made friends, I've lost friends, I've jumped for joy, I've cried tears and in the middle of it all I gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy.

I can't believe another year of blogging has gone by. I've not blogged as much this year and I'll be the first to admit that my time and energy has gone into my family life more. I feel like I have the balance right now. I do sometimes wish I had more time to spend on Twitter and other blogs reading the amazing things that are out there but that will come in time as my baby boy grows. For now, I'm enjoying every minute with him, MC and Matt.

This time last year I reflected back on my first year of blogging so this year it's time to look back over 2012.

Before I start I want to say I'm dedicating this post to the beautiful and inspirational Kerry AKA Multiple Mummy. I've said before that she started blogging just after me and, along with a couple of other amazing women, she felt like my blogging sister. I had the pleasure of spending some time with her and she was even more lovely in real life than she was on her blog. Sadly, Kerry passed away just before Christmas. Her passing has left me so shocked and has made me realise that you really never know what is around the corner so you should seize every moment with both hands. I'm certainly more determined than ever not to stress the little stuff.

Kerry was only 30 and leaves behind a loving husband and 3 very young children. May 2013 be full of love, health, happiness and strength for them.

So, here's my blogging journey for 2012...


January
The year kicked off in amazing style. Matt, Mini Cheddar and I (complete with baby bump) jetted off for 3 whole, and totally amazing, weeks in Florida. It was to be a holiday we would never EVER forget and we can't wait to go back to Orlando.

February
Despite MC only having a dummy at night time we managed to successfully get her straight off the dummy when we returned from our holiday. 3 cheers for the dummy fairy! I also celebrated a year of volunteering for my local Save The Children shop. Matt flew off to America for a job interview when I was heavily pregnant and fighting a lot of bad feelings.

March
Matt didn't get the job in America...much to my relief. We celebrated MC's 3rd Birthday - I still can't believe what a beautiful and clever little girl Matt and I produced. I was brave enough to post a picture of me and my huge bump at almost 40 weeks pregnant.

April
I announced the birth of our beautiful baby boy, Tini Ched (TC), on the blog (born 28th March). He was, and still is, perfection. I wrote, in my opinion, one of my best ever blog posts which discusses caesarean section and the stigma attached to it. I was overwhelmed by the response it received from comments, tweets, DM's and e-mails. I also blogged TC's birth story. I raised some smiles with my 'You Know You've Just Had A Baby' post.

May
Matt landed a shiny new job! I was nominated for not one but two MAD Blog Awards for Best Pregnancy and Best Baby Blog. Thank you once again for all those who voted for me. Another post which I'm a little bit proud of followed - this time about the benefits to us of co-sleeping. Something else which has a bit of a stigma attached to it.

June
I started to think about 'coming out' and admitting to all friends and family that I wrote a blog. Bank Holiday Bedlam took place which involved a lot of vomiting and crying. It was a day I'll never forget! Tiny Ched was 12 weeks old already!

July
I decided I am going to keep quiet in future and not blog about things smugly for fear of them going wrong! I blogged about thoughts and feeling I'd been having since having children and it stuck a chord with a lot of you. MC had the MOTHER of all tantrums.

August
Despite her outburst the previous month, I was reminded just what a hilarious and brilliant daughter MC is. My house was invaded by a slimy little f**ker!

September
I, thanks to you guys, was awarded the Best Baby Blog at The MAD Blog Awards. I couldn't make the ceremony and found out via Twitter. To say I was totally gobsmacked was a complete understatement.

October
Matt resigned from his new job without a job to go to. It was a crazy few weeks but one we got through and it turned out to be the best decision he made. I was chosen to be a Cosatto Brand Buddy which was amazing. I developed mastitis which was a bitch!

November
I remembered Betty Dogface one year on. I took the decision to give up breastfeeding TC at 7 months following mastitis. I was gutted. I went back to my volunteer job at Save The Children after being off on maternity. Once again I felt the incredible power of the blogging community as we joined together to heal Kerry. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

December
This was a month that saw me mainly survive blogging via Silent Sunday posts due to battling a run of bad health and just being VERY busy with everything. I did manage to find time to question where my tits had disappeared to though!


So here's to 2013.

Thank you to you, my lovely blog readers. Thank you for sticking with me through the good and the bad and, once again, thank you for all your support. Happy New Year to each and every one of you. May your 2013 be full of the love, health and happiness you all deserve.

*raises a glass of wine / vodka / beer / sherry / gin / champers*
(delete as applicable)

CHEERS!

R.I.P. Kerry
xxx 

Bye Bye Baby

My daughter is almost 22 months and I can't believe how fast last year went.  Doesn't seem like a minute ago she was taking her first steps and having her first birthday.  I've gone through her pictures and I can't believe how much she's changed:

JANUARY - A kiss for Mummy

FEBRUARY - All smiles despite a few days of the Norovirus

MARCH - 1st Birthday celebrations

APRIL - Newly walking lady visits the Cotswolds on a mini-break

MAY - Feeding Daddy raisins in Lanzarote

JUNE - Squirrel watching in Grosvenor Park, Chester

JULY - Multi-taking...eating whilst pooing at Hawarden Carnival

AUGUST - My very own Makka Pakka

SEPTEMBER - Move over Lewis Hamilton

OCTOBER - Where did my baby go?

NOVEMBER - Bye bye Grobag, hello cot pillow and duvet

DECEMBER - Eating German biscuits at the Christmas Markets in Edinburgh

2010.  The year I lost my baby but gained my gorgeous girl.

Back To Work

Today is the day that most people return to work after the festive period.  I say ‘most’ people but I don’t fall under that category.  I’m a ‘stay at home mum’ (SAHM).  I never in a million years thought that when I had children I would give up work but I absolutely love it.

I think sometimes more career-minded people, in a rather pitying way that makes me mad, can look down on SAHM’s.  This usually happens when they don’t have children themselves.  Maybe they think we sit around all day drinking coffee and watching daytime television.  Fact of the matter is I don’t.  Yes I go on twitter (and now this blog aha!) but it’s done quickly on my phone and usually when I’m waiting for something like the toaster or the microwave or I'm fed up playing with Mega Bloks ;-)

My working friends quite regularly ask me if I ‘miss’ work.  I never quite know how to answer that.  I wouldn’t say I miss work.  I certainly don’t miss the 124 miles of driving every day.  I don’t miss getting mad in the car at the idiots who don’t use the lanes on the motorway in the correct way.  I don’t miss the Bank Holiday traffic and me getting angry at all the caravan owners sat in the middle lanes or trying to over-take trucks and clogging up my journey home.  I don’t miss having disagreements with ‘creative’ bods who haven’t listened to me or read my brief correctly and me running around like an idiot trying to get something else done to present at a meeting.  I do however miss my income.  At the end of the day that’s what the vast majority of people work for no matter how much they say they ‘love’ their jobs.  

I don’t have any desire to return to work in the near future.  I left school at 16 and had plans to go to college but I landed myself a job.  I was on £35 a week and I loved it.  I worked my way up through the company, moving divisions and eventually achieved a manager role within marketing.  As the first signs of the recession started to hit about 4 years ago I was made redundant.  It hit me hard as the company was like my family; I’d grown up with it.  I was lucky enough to be offered a job elsewhere straight away and lucky for me I loved it.  Problem was it was 62 miles away from home and I also had to spend time driving up to Cumbria and down to Oxford.  Fortunately the pay was good and they paid business AND personal on my company car.  Happy days!  Fast-forward 2 years and I’m leaving to have a baby…eek!

At that point I was hit with a decision.  As it was I started my maternity leave early.  I left Christmas Eve when my baby wasn’t due until 16^th March!  It was mainly my husbands decision as he didn’t want me doing all the driving in the final trimester.  I was happy as it gave me time to prepare for having a baby.  I think Matt and I both just knew I wouldn’t be going back to work.  We’ve had to make some sacrifices but that’s what having children is all about.   We’ve never led overly extravagant lifestyles but we have been known to splurge from time-to-time – well now we certainly live a more frugal lifestyle.  We’ve had to adapt to this change in our life.  I have to say though that sometimes I do struggle not having my own income.  I’ve always had a wage.  For almost 20 years I worked and bought things for myself - I even bought my first car myself at the age of 18 when most of my friends were getting them as presents. 

Anyway, I digress.  Sorry.  I can see me amending this blog post a few times after publishing it!  I’m really happy being a SAHM.  I love spending time with my daughter and thankfully I still have contact with adults.  I meet regularly with my groups of friends, most without children or children who are 17+ so I get to have conversations other than potty training and tantrums.  I also have a few great friends with children of the same age as my daughter.   I honestly don’t think I’d have the time to work and do all the things I want to do. 

I’m not saying I’ll be a SAHM forever, but for now I think I deserve some time off for good behaviour.  Until then I’m savouring each day with my daughter and secretly dreading the day I have to go back to work.




Photographer: luigi diamanti

Three Little Words

I read someone else’s blog yesterday, someone who was listing what they’d done and achieved during 2010.  This included setting up a new business amongst other great things.  It got me thinking…

What have I done in 2010?

That’s the point I hit a brick wall.  A mild panic set in.  The year has just slipped through my fingers without me grasping a tight hold of it and doing something about it.  If I was writing a list of things I’d done/achieved it would consist of these:

•  Finally grown my finger nails
• Experienced my daughters 1^st birthday
• Been on a few great mini breaks and a villa holiday in Lanzarote
• Got fit and shed a few pounds (thanks to Jillian Michaels mainly)
• Started wearing leggings rather than jeans all the time – ha!
• Deactivated my Facebook account
• Re-activated my Twitter account
• Made a few great friends on Twitter
• Lost a few not so great ‘friends’ on Facebook
• Built (although not personally) a 2 room wooden cabin in the back garden
• Became a mystery shopper (but only actually did ONE shop!)

Hardly an inspiring list is it?  I was talking to Matt last night about New Year resolutions and about 2010 and he reminded me of an important point.  I’ve spent the last year caring for, loving and teaching our young daughter and that THAT was more important than anything. 

She’s so funny and intelligent she scares us sometimes, she’s got a massive vocabulary of words now aswell as signs and can link words to form ‘baby sentences’.  She doesn’t have tantrums as she can communicate well with us.  Now I’m not saying she’s not going to fall under the dreaded ‘terrible two’s’ category but hopefully the next couple of years will be easier as I’ve dedicated a lot of my time to her.  What sort of price do you put on that?  Yes, he made me feel better about everything but I still want to DO something in 2011.

I’ve never really done New Years resolutions before but I’ve decided I’m going to try and achieve a couple of quite major (for me!) things this year:

• Learn Spanish - it’s something I’ve wanted to do for the past 10 years but I keep putting it off
• Do more mystery shops – I signed up to mystery shopping about 8 months ago and only did my first shop at the beginning of December.  I loved it and more importantly, got paid for it..bonus!
• Not always put other people first to the detriment of myself

The last point is something I have always battled with but this year it really came and bit me hard on the backside.  I tried to cut a bad person out my life quietly to protect others but I was the one who ended up deeply hurt.  I didn’t sleep or eat properly for weeks and lost almost half a stone in weight in one week. Even when I did start to resume normal life the hurt was still there.  The experience took me a long while to get over (I guess in some ways I’m still coming to terms with it) and has made me quite guarded of who I let into my life now but this is a good thing in the long run.  I’m a mother now, I have someone who practically depends on me 24/7 – I can’t have people like that in my life.

It’s not a long list but personally I think it’s a good list.   Spanish, Mystery & Me – just 3 little words to keep me happy.  If I can get to 31^st December 2011 having achieved them I’ll be pleased and won’t look at other peoples lists and kick myself for wasting another year.

So, here's to 2011.  1 year, 3 little words and 1 stronger person.


Photographer: Filomena Scalise