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Well, I'm poorly sick. Not hugely diseased but enough to knock me out of sorts. I've kept away from hugging and kissing the kids and the hubs and had to go to bed when I was substandard. But other than that I'm relieved it's not worse. Since having my tonsils out a couple of years ago I can relax in the knowledge that my sore throat will stay at just a sore throat and not develop into tonsillitis. Hurrah!!
I made a gregarious decision to leave the house earlier in the month and socialised merrily with friends for Christmas festivities on a very responsible pub crawl. It was lovely to see my buddies and we went to a town called Retford, which I've never been to before, so it was great to have a different setting. The first bar we went to was beautifully decorated for Christmas and if it wasn't for the price of the drinks I would have happily stayed there all night, but we moved on to a more lively place and had some food. Just a veggie burger and chips, nice and easy but it was lush! Large portions and fast service, what more could you want?! Onward we went to a couple more places and before we knew it we were heading back to the train station. Merry, rejuvenated with new surroundings and no hangover in the morning made for a wonderful night out. I'm pleased I went.
It's been *I's birthday this week, it's come round all too quick for my liking. The night before the hubs and I decorate the dining table with balloons and put the cards and gifts there ready for her in the morning. We always buy the other two kids a present to open up because it's a tradition my Mum always did with my sister and I and I like to carry it on. On birthdays, the kids open their presents in the morning and their Nanna and Auntie come round in the afternoon or early evening with more presents. We always have a birthday tea party together and myself or *I will make the birthday cake. Now the girls are getting older their dad buys them flowers (just from him) and with our lad, he has a mega long gaming session.
As for getting older and growing up, some people say that home education matures the child far quicker than a child in the mainstream system, but I'm quite lucky because I don't feel that's the case in our house. I try to keep things juvenile, have board-game and movie nights. We let our lad sleep in his blanket walled den and I try to encourage crafting, even if they're reluctant at first, they end up enjoying themselves.
Our oldest girl who is almost done with high school stage looks like she should just be starting yr7 and our younger girl who is in yr7 looks like a very tall 8-year-old. It's only our lad who's starting to look his age but he still loves hugs and teddy bears
I'll be 40 in January and that just feels like the weirdest thing in the world. Going from ages10-20 seemed to take so long, my school years were horrid and my late teens were stressful. In my 20's-30 I was busy getting married and having babies so I didn't have much concept of time with 3 kids under the age of 5 at one point.
But my 30's-40 has just flown passed. Tragically we lost our first doggy to the stars but happily rescued another one and sadly, all of my Grandparents passed on. My Granddads within 2 days of each other and my Nan's within 2 years of each other. I've unfortunately had to cut ties with toxic people and family members.
But there have been some GREAT times over the last 10 years! The kids are growing up at a supersonic pace and it's been lovely watching them become their own person and we've relocated to what we hope will become our forever family home. We've had a once in a lifetime magical family holiday and made life-changing plans like home ed and the hubs re-training at college. I've completed my mental health awareness course, written my own courses, started and ran a local social group, designed a website, started my blog and have had articles published. All alongside raising a family as a full-time mummy and home educating. I'm quite proud of myself.
Our lifestyle options most recently have been, let's say, variable, due to circumstances out of our control. There's been a lot of stress and upset but also we've grown closer as a family and bonded in ways that we never would have if it hadn't have been for home educating.
We're now at the stage of starting a new chapter and it seems like a great time for it. They say life begins at 40 and our plans for a new life and warmer future coincide with it, so I'm excited at starting this new phase and decade. It will sound strange to me to say I'm 40 because it seems like only yesterday I started work in the nightclub where I met a very self-assured and arrogant lad who I ended up marrying!
Christmas certainly does seem to be the time for reflection and being excited about new beginnings. So with that in mind, I wish you all a super merry Christmas and fab new year!
