Auntie Knows Best

Our final day at the campsite was a little grey and murky so we dragged the kids out for a nice walk through the lanes followed by an icecream and then we had a barbecue in the evening. We’d had such a fantastic, relaxing few days camping with these guys. We are fortunate to have good friends who have kids the same age who all get on.

The rest of the week was half term and and the kids went to Outdoor Guernsey for three days. They had a wonderful time including Nerf wars, archery, cricket and other team games and coasteering. The Little Mister has been coasteering before and was pretty nervous, but this time he has gained some courage and was jumping off some higher leaps. The Little Miss on the other hand is completely fearless and there is a terrifying picture of her leapoing off the tallest jump!

For June the weather has been really disappointing. There has been a chilly Northerly wind so the temperatures are still relatively low. I did have a lovely walk with Emma on Saturday evening and then we had a swim before church at the Bathing Pools though which was chilly but delightful and then my sister and niece came for lunch. A fab week.

This week has included a poorly Little Miss, a busy week at work and school, Betty the cat bringing her offerings to The Mister and leaving them in his shoe.

The Little Miss also had to do the Kick Challenge at swimming and she completely smashed it – the competition was who could swim 8 lengths with a float and short fins and she managed to do it in 3 minutes 31 seconds. She completely turned it on!

The Mister also squeezed himself into his tux and went out to a work awards do and on Saturday I went out with Dad to a charity ball. We were all shattered by Sunday but it was a good week. I discovered the Little Miss had been taking selfies with my phone with me asleep in the background.

Written on New Year’s Day after our return home!

New Year’s Eve started with exercise for me – I went to a ladies strength class at 7.30am! It is my favourite class of the week and I always attend when I can. I really appreciate Jemma who is the instructor – encouraging but not shouty. Perfect!

This evening we went to our friends Emma and Martin’s house. We all brought food and booze. The kids screamed about the place and played games on the Wii…. and they all managed to stay awake until midnight. One of the usual families wasn’t able to attend and much missed but we had a lovely time anyway. I hugely appreciate this lovely group of friends and the fact that our children play (mostly) so beautifully together.

Midnight was seen in with fizz and smiles and a lovely group photo. We stayed overnight and this morning started slowly with a cooked brunch. Unfortunately the weather was pretty rough so we didn’t get out usual new Year’s Day walk but The Mister and the kids and I went for a quick breath of fresh air on the way home.

2022 was a year full of ups and downs but mostly it was just day-to-day normality. The bump and grind of daily life, kids activities, church, exercise, sea swimming, friends, family and a wonderful holiday to Kenya… the real highlight of our year.

So… onwards to 2023. Who knows what it will bring.

One thing I do know is that I won’t be carrying on with a picture a day. I have lost the pleasure of it, it has become a chore not a delight. I will still post, but not so often.

Happy New Year everyone x

This morning The Mister and I went for a lovely swim at Port Soif. It was so busy and loads of people were sea swimming, The sea temperature is steadily dropping though. I was all set to head to church when I decided that I just couldn’t face it after the week I have had.

So instead of going to church I met my sister and friend and we had a lovely walk and catch up. It was totally what I needed and I am completely sure that God understands!

We arrived into a glorious Portsmouth at 8.30am. It was a gorgeous day, clear and sunny and there were several Royal Navy ships for us to see as we came in.

Interesting to get used to driving on big roads again! I was flagging a little so we stopped at a services near Oxford for a coffee break and to swap drivers.

We carried on up through Birmingham and ran into a load of traffic. If we had realised we would probably have gone cross country. Thankfully we have the CD of the second Harry Potter book to listen to which we are all enjoying.

We made it to Shrewsbury where we had a late lunch and went to Go Outdoors where we m get to spend surprisingly little.

The last bit of our journey took us along the top of Wales to near Llanberis where our friends live. Such beautiful scenery and a lovely warm welcome.

Oh it is always such a sad day when we get to the last day of Greenbelt. It is my favourite weekend of the year and I will miss these guys so much.

These are friends who I met online. We have grown together, been to each other’s weddings and seen our children grow up.

We might not meet very often, not even every year, but when we get together it is like nothing has ever changed.

It’s wonderful.

I spent the evening doing some tidying up some bookshelves and found our wedding album.

I love this photo of friends who we mainly met online. It is safe to say they are all important real life people in our lives these days.

Mothering Sunday – a day of such mixed up emotions.

I obviously think a lot about my own Mum. I wonder how different my life would be if she were here. I think I might feel less stressed, better supported and more confident in my parenting. I would love to ask her what I was like as a small child and whether I was as difficult to parent as The Little Miss can be at times. I suspect I was just like her!

I like to think that Mum would be really proud of me; that she would be happy with the way the children are turning out. In fact, I think she would be proud of the way me and my sister have turned out. I fully believe that she considered that we were her greatest achievements and I remain abundantly grateful for all the time and energy and love she invested in us.

Instead of having my Mum for support I have a few wonderful women who are around. I totally believe that I am a better mother for having them in my lives, helping me make decisions and sharing the load of Mothering. I am grateful for my sister – her unending support both emotional and physical makes a huge difference to me. My lovely friend Emma is another person who makes mothering manageable and bearable. I appreciate her support and care for me and children and husband.

I believe that as we need to work hard to care for the mothers in our communities; to nurture, love and support each other. We need to build each other up and share the load of parenting, for when we parent together we are more effective and our children benefit from the extended ‘mothering’ they experience.

So today, I went to church. I cried a little and smiled more. I cooked a lovely roast dinner for my family and my Dad and then we went to the beach with Emma and her children. The kids went body-boarding (in March!!) and Emma and I drank pink fizz.

Thankyou to everyone who helps me be a better Mum. Your support, love and care has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

Today I was tired, tearful and slightly hungover.

I struggled all day and The Little Mister has been incredibly difficult. He has been rude and oppositional and just hard to manage and I have struggled because I am not at top of my game.

I cried in church, cried in the car and cried at home.

My friend Emma asked me and the kids out for a walk around the headland. It was just what I needed; blustery and blowy and a bit of a reflection of my mood but I felt much better when I returned.

I am very grateful for friends who hold me up when I am feeling down and who will walk alongside me when I am struggling.

These gorgeous, mild December days are perfect for beach visits and walks.

We had another lovely walk across Vazon with Emma and the kids. Unfortunately the children were less compliant in having their photos taken!