Down Time

Have I said before how much I love the school holidays? It’s my idea of heaven … I love not having to get up early to chase kids out of bed and make sure they get dressed and ready for school. Not having to pack lunches, ensure there is enough fruit for everyone or check that all homework has been completed.

Of course, I would probably find it a nuisance to have to figure out what to do with the little darlings while I’m away for hours every day if I had a job (and hopefully that’s a problem I will be dealing with next holidays) but for now, it’s nice to not have that concern.

The reason I love the holidays is because I love having my children home with me. I get to spend one on one time with each of them, watch movies with them, laugh and relax with them. Of course we do all that as much as possible throughout the school terms too, but then those activities are interspersed with episodes of my nagging. Phrases such as, ‘come on, it’s way past bedtime’, ‘how long has this sandwich been in your school bag?’ and ‘just hurry up and get IN THE CAR!’ are not so much a part of my vocabulary in the holidays.

Not that the routines and expectations are forgotten entirely. It is important for kids to understand that the house still has to be organised. Washing up still needs doing, animals need feeding and rooms DO need to be kept reasonably tidy.

A lot of rules are a little more relaxed though. I don’t chase my teenager out of bed early on the holidays, I let my Cavegirl play with makeup and nail polish a bit more than usual and my littlest Caveman gets to scatter his toys a bit further. They are all allowed to stay up later at night and get more computer time as well. We tend to be pretty strict on all those things during the school terms, so the kids really enjoy the relaxation on the holidays. The rules will tighten up again in the last week or two, in preparation for the new school year, but we will have had a few weeks of just enjoying each other’s company in the meantime.

I know a lot of parents can’t wait for school to go back. Even the Caveman refers to the school term as ‘parent holidays’ (and some days, when the kids are being difficult, I agree with him!). But, for now, I’m happy to enjoy the down time.

Confessions of a First Year Blogger

One year ago today, I published the first entry in my blog. I was new to this whole blogging world (although I was actually late to the scene, with so many people already doing it).

It’s been fun so far, although it has brought with it some challenges.

I have discovered that it’s much harder to blog regularly than I thought.  I assumed it would be no problem for me to sit down once or twice a week and tap out an interesting story on the keyboard. It turns out I am busier than I gave myself credit for!  

It can also be tricky to get an entire blog out of a small event – a lot of funny or unusual things happen in my house that I would love to share with the world, but they can often be described in only a few short sentences and it’s hard to stretch it out into something really worth reading.

On the other hand, sometimes there are subjects I could write an essay on … which I’m pretty certain no-one would bother reading.  I know if I am checking out somebody else’s blog I prefer it to be short and sweet. I don’t have time to sit and read other people’s essays either!

Sometimes it's tricky to know whether I should write about serious subjects, or focus on humour. I have tried to do both, with some entries being more serious and others being just about some random funny moment that I thought was worth sharing.

It has been an interesting exercise in learning how to write so that what I’m saying makes sense. Adding information where necessary and removing words (or even entire sentences) that just clog up the story. Taking the time to proofread what I’ve written and figure out what works and what doesn’t before I click ‘Publish’. I'm sure it is all good practice for when I get around to writing that novel I keep threatening.

I am enjoying blogging and will definitely continue. I'll probably never be one of those bloggers who makes money out of it, or gets famous (who'd want that anyway?), but it's fun.  I love when things happen and I immediately think, 'That would make a great blog'. Of course, there are also plenty of things that I wouldn't blog about - it is important to keep a level of privacy and not fall into the trap of just treating it like a private diary (after all, the internet is forever!).  

Blogging gives a whole new perspective on everyday life and I would encourage anyone to give it a go.

It's also nice to be able to look back over the year and see what I have written about my family and our adventures through the past 12 months.  I can’t wait to see what we get up to in the next 12 ...

New Year's Resolutions

Here we are in 2014, already!

Christmas suddenly seems so 'last year' ...

The sparkly tree and decorations have been taken down, the new calendar is up on the wall and we are ready for the New Year.

Oh, except for making resolutions ... I haven't done that yet.

It's because I haven't decided on one. Maybe I should resolve to be better at making decisions. Or to do less procrastinating (then I might get to my blog more often), or simply to be more well-organised. Now there's something my household could really benefit from!

I could even get really specific, by resolving to vacuum the house more regularly, or be better at planning my meals for the week or paying my bills on time.

To be honest, I don't tend to get too caught up in New Year's resolutions. I'm not a smoker, or much of a drinker, and I am happy with my health, so I can't do the standard 'I'll give up alcohol' or 'I'll go on a diet' resolutions. Anyway, it's been shown that if you place pressure on yourself by making one of those, it makes it harder to stick with it. I guess if you are really committed to achieving those things you'll just do them, regardless of the date.

In the end, I usually pick the same sort of vague resolution every year - to try to be a better person. To be more patient, more kind, more loving, more helpful. To be willing to listen, learn and understand better. To remember that my view of the world is narrow and that there is so much I do not know.

I think, if we all took that resolution, maybe the world really would be a better place.