Happy New Year!

I know what you are thinking, little late isn’t she?! Yes and no, although it is indeed the 6th of Jan, the decorations have only just come down here, (12 days after Christmas) and with that and everyone back at work etc it now feels like a new year, a new start.

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions; I much prefer to look at the year gone by and ask myself what I want out of the year ahead. 2009 was a good year in many ways, we had our little baby girl Eleanor Amanda and the later part of the year was merely an adjustment to life as a family of four, it was a huge change for us all but every moment has been worth it. We have also watched our little boy grow so much and in so many ways over the last year, we are so proud of him and although I enjoy the current stage he is at there is always part of me that misses the last stage. He is so independent in so many ways yet still needs us so much, he has taken to his new role of big brother extremely well and informed me just the other evening that he loves Eleanor "lots and lots"


We had a great Christmas and celebrated New Year quietly. The children received some lovely things as did we, people have been very generous and kind and listened to our requests for wooden toys, art and craft materials and such like.


What will 2010 bring? What do we hope for? As usual many things, and although we will not be doing anything as exciting and life changing as having a baby I am sure it will be a rollercoaster ride!


Jack will turn four this year and Eleanor one, we will celebrate our sixth year as a couple and our third year of marriage. I can’t wait. I am sure there will be other special events and anniversaries along the way and each will be important and special to us.

By far the biggest event planned for this year is that Jack is due to start school in September, I have mixed feelings about this. I don’t doubt he will have fun and quickly make friends but I also worry. I worry about the structure of school, Jack is such a free spirit and although of course we have rules and boundaries he is allowed messy play / craft / cooking etc as he wishes, he makes music and sings songs as loud as his little lungs will allow and asks endless questions, I worry this will start to disappear. I am in awe of people who home educate their children and although I have thought about it I don’t believe I am the right sort of person to do it and I know Adam wouldn’t be 100% behind it and that would make is ten times harder. Jack has been attending nursery for a few hours a week for almost two years and lately we have been struggling, he doesn’t want to go, we don’t view some behaviour in the same way and so he hasn’t been a getting a consistent message and although people say he should go as to prepare himself for school I don’t feel leaving him crying with relative strangers is not going to prepare him for anything.

Over the past few months we have been learning more and more about our world around us and our impact on it, some things we have always done like recycling, sone we have done for a while like using freecycle to reduce the amount we throw away and reuse things from others. Some we have just started to do - buying less and making more for instance - and others we want to start doing - growing veg and keeping chickens. I find the internet has been my greatest aid in doing more, I am now able to source and research products that have minimal impact on the environment, that are fairtrade and/or organic and gain idea of projects and get inspiration from others.


I hope to still continue with my volunteer work, I want to develop this, maybe more in a different direction slightly but that’s all the idea stages at the moment.


Finally I hope in 2010 to be able to meet more like minded people and get to know better the people I have already met in my journey.


Hope to see you along the way x x