But I thought I'd spend a few minutes this morning filling you all in on the busy, busy year that has prevented me from blogging.
Blogging hinderances:
1. KIDS
Firstly, I seem to spend at least 100 hours a week ferrying my children back and fourth to different activities.
Kylah - Kylah is the busiest of my 4 children. She is currently doing 7 hours a week of musical theatre/dancing/singing lessons and has a lead role in a musical later this year that keeps her extremely busy. She also plays tennis and has a volunteer job.
Jasmine - My Jaz baby loved being a part of a netball team this year and we are very sad that the netball season is over. She also does ballet lessons.
Rohan - Rohan has done Martial Arts, tennis lessons and is about to start in a summer cricket club.
Isabelle - Little Diddy has been enjoying ballet lessons.
The kids all do their schooling through a private Distance Education school and are all excelling, making Ben and I very happy with the choice we made to educate them at home. Their teacher, that visits our house, is very pleased with their progress.
2. MY SISTER
My little sister, Kristy, and I have an exceptionally close relationship. Despite being polar opposites, in so many way's, we share the same sense of humour and an understanding of each other that is usually only reserved for twins.
I had the honour of watching Kristy birth all three of her children and my two nephews and niece are like my surrogate children.
In fact I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I breastfed all of Kristy's children at some point or another. Was it because I was just too lazy to get them a bottle? No. Milk is milk and breast milk has been proven over and over again to be superior to formula. For the milk drinkers out there - do you care which cow your milk comes from? I didn't think so. Wet nurses have been around for millennia and the notion that "breastfeeding someone else's child is disgusting" is a modern idea that has no scientific basis and is extremely judgemental.
The fact that Kristy and I were able to breastfeed each others children proved to be a humongous benefit when my youngest, Diddy, was in hospital for long periods of a time as a baby. I was able to have a break from the hospital to spend time with my other children, while Kristy would stay at the hospital with Diddy and could feed her when necessary.
Kristy and I spend a lot of time together and have been on holidays together twice this year.
3. WORK
I am still a registered teacher (and have always maintained my registration) and over the past year I have dabbled in a bit of relief work.
The majority of my work has been in another field though, which I am very excited to be getting experience in.
Whilst I won't go into the specifics of the government agency that I have worked for, I will say that I am learning from some of the best people in the field and excited about the future opportunities that I will have as a result of the experience that I am gaining.
4. MY BOOK
Yes I am still writing my book. It is half way through and unlike my blog, which is sometimes a little too truthful (*see above where I shared a little TMI about co-breastfeeding) my book is a work of fiction. Science fiction/romance to be exact. The last year has been less about writing and more about researching. I want to make sure that the science behind all of the ideas in my book is plausible and this has required me to study a lot.
5. FRIENDS
I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of friends that I absolutely love spending time with.
I have a few friends that I am super close to that I have met through homeschooling/distance education. I also have life long friends that I have known for what seems like forever.
My friends are so spread out so keeping up with everyone takes a lot of time. But I really put in the effort because friends are like a second family to me.
They are all so different but every single one of them shares a key feature, that to me is more important than any lifestyle choice. They are all decent human beings with good, kind hearts.
Ben and I had the pleasure of a double date weekend to Melbourne with two of our good friends. We had such a great time with this couple that in future I think we will always plan our Melbourne trips to be a double date.
6. FAMILY
Last but not least is my family. When I am not busy with the kids, my hubby or working I am usually spending time with other members of my family. Maintaining a relationship with my immediate and extended family is of the utmost importance with me. One of the main values that I want to instil in my children is that family always come first. Children will not just learn this from me brainwashing it into them. They will also learn it from observing how I treat my own family and how Ben and I treat each other.
Anyway, I have to get to work. The kids have already started their Distance Education lessons and I need to be there to facilitate.
Will hopefully get to write more of my "Mummy Blog" when my book is finished. But for the near future.... I can't see it happening. Will endeavour to check in every now and then with updates.
B xx
P.S. Anyone reading this that would like information on the Distance Education school my children attend, my teacher registration or would like to clarify any other information at all please feel free to email me at the address attached to this blog and I can give you a call. :-)
