Year of Giving - Mummy March

It's Mummy March!

I am really enjoying my Year of Giving so far. I love planning who to surprise and this month I have decided to make it around the theme of Motherhood. I have a lot of friends who are either pregnant or who have recently had babies. It's a really tough time whether you are carrying your child on the inside, in your arms as a baby or on your hip as a toddler. Unhelpfully, children do not arrive with a manual or a how to guide and it's not always rosy, especially in the early days. I thought of a few mums in my life that I felt needed an extra boost and set about my scheming.

Feeding New Mums

My first gift was to my friend Paula who has just recently had a beautiful baby boy. One of my happiest memories as a new mum was when my friend Christine visited me after the birth of JC and brought with her a delicious home cooked meal. I had been living on tea, cold toast and biscuits so this gesture really meant a lot to me. I decided to do the same for Paula and when I went over for a cuddle with Joshua I brought with me some of my homemade stew, mashed potatoes and veg. I also arranged for COOK Morningside to deliver 8 meals to their house the following week to keep their freezer well stocked. This means that she can have a night off from cooking each week for the next 8 weeks.












Pampering Pregnant Ladies
My other charge this month was my cousin Leanne. She is due a baby in June and is getting to that fed up third trimester stage. She has been really tired and run down lately. She is doing so well though as she has a 3 year old and looks after her 2 year old nephew a few days through the week too. I decided to give her a wee pamper kit. I drew together a few bits and bobs such as shortbread (her favourite), a magazine, bump cream, peppermint cooling spray for tired legs, some nice shower gel and a calming reed diffuser. I popped it all in a gift bag and surprised her after nursery. Leanne is a salt of the earth kind of person. She would really do anything for you and always goes the extra mile for others, expecting very little in return.

Babysitting Service
Sometimes it's the gesture that means more than the gift. My friend Laura has 2 beautiful twin girls but getting out for the night without them can prove difficult. Laura's mum did a lot of childcare for her but she lost her fight to cancer just prior to Christmas. Laura was telling me how she had taken the girls and her hubby out for dinner but had to leave after the starters as the girls were a bit unsettled. I remember this stage well. In fact, on Christmas Eve the same thing happened to me. We went for dinner in a lovely Mexican restaurant. It wasn't lovely. Jamie cried from the moment we got there and John wouldn't stay in his seat. We rushed down our food as quickly as we could and left with me in tears. I think that Laura deserves a bit of chill time so I have gifted her my babysitting services for the evening to let them go for dinner together without the girls.

Preloved Rehomed
The last instalment of giving is something I think most mums are good at. Rehoming the old baby stuff you no longer need. I know that Jamie is my last baby so there is no need to hold on to things like clothes that were never or barely worn. I have bagged up my newborn clothes to give to my sister's friend Holly who is due her baby in the next month. I am also planning to give away my baby books to Homestart Lochgelly (a local branch of the charity that supports mums with kids under 5) as my boys outgrow them. I used my commission from selling Usborne books to buy £200 worth of new books for Homestart this month and the rest of my commission has funded the gifting this month.


Being a mother is one of the most demanding jobs and like most vocations it doesn't come well paid. You end up working your holidays and you are emotionally invested and on call 24/7. You can't take a sick day without feeling guilty and sometimes your efforts are not appreciated to the degree they should be. Motherhood doesn't come with a manual. Even on your best day you can still feel like you are failing. It's not without its benefits though. The smile of recognition when they see you enter the the room. The way they stretch their arms up to you to be lifted. The way they cling to you when feel hurt or upset. The way they curl their finger round your thumb when they are feeding. They way their little heads always smell so delicious. The way the look so peaceful and innocent when they sleep. The way they look at you with love in their eyes when you see them performing in their nursery show. The way the run to you and wrap themselves around you after 2 hours of separation like it has been forever. Its not always the easiest job but it is definitely the most inexplicably rewarding.

Happy Mother's Day
xoxo

Tragedy

Tragic  

Adjective Causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow. Suffering extreme distress or sorrow.

It's been a hell of a year. So many people who should be here that are sadly no longer with us.

You here people saying 'it was so sudden' or 'we knew it was coming, but it's still a shock'. I don't think it matters whether you saw it coming or not, it's still tragic. One thing that has struck me this year is the tragic circumstances surrounding the passing of people in our lives. Within our family and friends there have been 10 deaths this year and 2 losses of grandparents to Alzheimer's. Some haven't left the womb, some have been babies/toddlers, some elderly leaving behind great grandchildren, some parents who have left behind young children, some with their whole lives ahead of them. What they all have in common is the feeling of extreme distress and sorrow their passing has brought.

I know for me personally, all the people who have passed have left behind a living legacy in way of a life lesson. I take these lessons from the way these people have lived their lives as well as the immediacy and harshness of their passing.

Live for the moment,
Cherish the time you have,
Hold your loved ones closer,
Forgive others and yourself for mistakes that are unimportant in the the grand scheme of life,
Take responsibility for your own happiness,
Don't become bogged down in the daily grind,
Take stock of all the riches you have in your life,
Tell and show your loved ones how loved they are,
Don't put things off for next week/month/year - achieve your dreams,
Be the change you want to see in the world,
Treat others the way you would want to be treated,
Give others compassion and don't be judgemental,
Be so very grateful,
Start living now because the reality is that you might be not here next new year to make the same resolutions again.

This post was inspired by Kerry (Multiple Mummy), Kelly and her babies, Mary,babies taken by angels x3, Baby Scott, Darren, Davie,Caden, Dy and Gran Thea,
xox 

A Slice of Sanity - 154/366

It's been an awful few weeks, hence the lack of blogging and 366 posts this week. There's been tears and tiredness and a whole lot of heartache but I won't elaborate on it at the moment if you don't mind! I did manage to escape the madness for some afternoon tea with my good friend Alana whose chat and witty humour drew out some semblance of sanity. Well, she is a clinical psychologist so who better to ease my mind! 

First Friends - 69/366

It's lovely to watch JC develop his early friendships. I know from my own experiences when I was young that these friendships often stay with you throughout your life. Even if you no longer see that friend who was once so important to you, they still come into your mind from time to time and remain an important part of your make up. 

This is Callum, JC's only friend who is a boy (he does love the ladies!). I met Callum's mum at a Netmums meet up and we got on really well and starting meeting up out with the group. Even though I have now moved out of the area, we still make an effort to meet up every fortnight as it's good for us and good for the boys. They play really well together and it's nice to see how they recognise each other and get excited when they meet up. JC has started asking for Callum (Caley as he calls him) between meet ups and that's an indication that the relationship is important to him - very sweet. 

Friends Are Like Flowers

Friends are like flowers 

Each unique in their own way

Put them all together

What a wonderful bouquet

Author Unknown

I have blogged about my friends many times and I am lucky to have lots of really good friends. More than I can even try to discuss here but I thought I'd put together a bouquet of some of my friends from the different areas of my life. Please excuse the awful photo shop skills! 

Alana - Bridesmaid and friend I met at Uni

Jemma - Bridesmaid and friend I met at Uni

My Cousins - Michelle, Leanne and Erin

My Edinburgh Uni (teaching) friends - Laura, Pamela, Moyra and Paula
Suzanne is missing from this photo as I don't have a photo of her and she doesn't 'do' Facebook!

Alison - We met in my probationary year as a teacher and she
has a wee girl who is 5 months older than JC. 

Angela - We met at a Netmums meet up. She has a wee boy who is
3 months younger than JC. 

Fee - She joined the band to cover my Maternity leave but we became
great friends in the process. She is due a baby in July and when she's ready
we will be setting up a duo and picking up the mics again!

Lynsey - We work together and she is the social leader of our staffroom!

Liska - We have children of a similar age, we both blog,
both trying to lose weight and have countless other things in common.
She blogs at newmumonline

This post was written as part of a writing prompt by Nickie at Typecast to raise awareness of the CLIC Sargent 'Yummy Mummy' campaign. I hope to get together with some of my friends in March to have a fundraising night for CLIC Sargent as I feel that it is such a wonderful charity. 

Tea, Cake and Company - 22/366

As I mentioned in my Reasons to be Cheerful post I went for Afternoon Tea today with Alana, one of my good friends. Despite running late (as usual) we arrived in a beautiful little cafe/restaurant called The Birdcage in Musselburgh, Edingburgh. It was a really pretty setting and the staff were friendly and welcoming. We were served with Prosecco and a cake/sandwich platter. I'm sure the cakes were nice but they barely touched the sides because I was starving!

We had a lovely few (JC free) hours where we were able to catch up on her Honeymoon adventures and the goings on in both our lives. It was a really nice opportunity just to chat and I had forgot how easy it was to be in her company. I think that is the mark of a true friend, someone who, after you haven't seen them in a while, still makes you feel totally at ease and the conversation just flows like you see them everyday. I am very thankful to have her in my life as she has been such a huge support to me over the past few years with 'big things' like my wedding, JC's arrival and my struggle recently with Post Natal Depression. We celebrated her wedding last May and she has just qualified as a Doctor, I am very proud of her. JC has just learned to say her name. He is calling her Anndana, very cute!

Smile, Just Smile

It's that time of the week again where I like to look back on the past week and think about things that I am  cheerful about. I have to say that it is particularly difficult this week as it hasn't been the best of weeks.

I am not going to fall into my usual trap and dwell on what hasn't gone well this week but I am going to tell you the things in my life that bring me through the other side. The things that make life worthwhile during the hardest moments.

This smile - He smiles with his eyes. Even when he is sick or teething, he still finds the happiness within him to give me this smile. He is a smiley boy and anyone who has ever met him will confirm that they have witnessed a beautiful smile from him but I do think that the one that is captured in this photo here, is the one he keeps just for me.

My wine of choice at the
moment

Red Wine - Not for the purposes of dulling the pain or drowning the sorrows but for the fabulous smooth taste in each glass of red wine that transports my memories to foreign holidays and cosy firesides.

My Bridesmaids pictured here are
some of my closest friends

Friends - I have so many fabulous friends, some I see everyday, some I see less frequently and some I have never even met but I spend so much time speaking to them online that I feel they know me better than I know myself. The amount of support I get from my friends is unbelievable. I will always be grateful to the friends who came to visit me when I was struggling with Grumpinator as a baby. They cooked for me, listened to me, took a turn of holding him while he screamed, cried with me, offered advice, made me laugh and put up with my uncomfortable silences when I couldn't quite find the words.

Me and My Mum

Phone calls - I spend a lot of time on the phone, much to hubby's disgust! When things are tricky or I just need to vent, I usually pick up the phone and call my mum. She is usually captured and has to listen to me until her phone runs of out battery. Sometimes she tells me things I don't want to hear but need to hear regardless. I appreciate her honesty and the fact that she sometimes misses her dinner or favourite TV program because she is listening to my ramblings. JC has picked up a lot from me - can you tell in this video . . .

For more cheerfulness check out Michelle's blog

Cheerful and Grateful 2

It's been a couple of weeks since I took part in this link up but I am feeling particularly happy this week so it will be difficult to whittle it down. Here goes:

1.
My wee Grumpinator is getting over the cold and seems to be on the mend. He is eating and sleeping well and has been very happy and settled this week.

2.
I am a school teacher and I have managed to negotiate a change in my hours when I go back to work in August. I will now be working 3 days a week. JC will be with a childminder for 2 days and his Gran for 1 day. I am looking forward to working again but I will miss him terribly.

3. I am grateful for my friends this week. I have been catching up with lots of my friends that I haven't seen for a few weeks or longer. I don't really live near many of my good friends so it can sometimes be difficult to see them regularly. It has been lovely to spend some time with them and catch up on their news.










Check out more entries of cheerfulness at Muumy from the Heart



Check out more entries of gratefulness at Maxabella loves

5 Ingredients for my perfect day

Listography time again (late again as per usual!). The list as set over at Kate Takes 5 this week is 5 ingredients to my perfect day. I did actually think about this all day yesterday and found it quite difficult to narrow it down but here goes:

1. I would wake up alarm free. No baby crying, no dogs barking, no postman ringing the bell and certainly no alarm clocks! There is nothing nicer than just letting your body wake up when it has had enough sleep.

2. I would meet one of my good friends for lunch, champers and laughter.

3. Take JC swimming. It is one of my biggest pleasures in life and I look forward to it every week.

4. Take the dogs for a walk on the beach. It has to be their favourite place and I love throwing stones for Ruby and watching Kaiya leg it round in circles.

5. I would finish the day with a meal in a nice Italian restaurant followed by a trip to the cinema to see a good film (with a pic n mix too of course!)

A Random Act of Kindness

I have decided to update my blog with this theme every Tuesday. The task is to perform a random act of kindness for someone and to be aware of people being kind to you. So, here is mine and feel free to link up and join in!

1. A man came to my door today to deliver a parcel, it was a DHL van and he often delivers things to me. I noticed this morning that I still had a box of chocolates leftover from Christmas. So when I saw him coming to my door, I grabbed the box and went to the door with it. I signed for my parcel and I handed him the chocolates. He looked perplexed and viewed me with suspicion (isn't it funny how we don't trust anyone anymore!). I told him that I had them leftover and that he always delivers parcels to me, even in bad weather, so I wanted him to have them as a wee thank you.

"I get paid to deliver them to you, I'm not doing it out of kindness" he said.

I replied "I know, but you don't get paid to smile and be nice when you come to my door but you always do."

He took the chocolates with a smile all over his face and off he went back to his van. I hope that I made his day today! I just hope he doesn't expect chocolates with every delivery! lol

As for kindness towards me, I have received some lovely emails and phone calls from my friends over the weekend. It is lovely to know that you are all here to support me and that I can call on you whenever I need you. Thanks!

Over and Out!
Feel free to link up and all that jazz . . .