Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Into The Unknown

Yesterday I was sitting down talking to my family and discussing that in two weeks I would be the mother of two children if not sooner. It then really hit me a new that this is something new. My son will experience something I never had and that is to have a sibling! I am an only child and my mum is also an only child. On the female side of this part of my family I am breaking out of the mold. As I watched my boy jump around the room and play baby with his teddy bear who needed to take a nap, I was left wondering how do I do this. This is where I pray and say God help me as I travel into the unknown. I know that thousands of people do it having more than one child. On my dad's side he was one of three but still it feels daunting. But the unknown is always an adventure. And so within the next two weeks this adventure will begin and I can't wait to meet this little girl that is already giving me sleepless nights and showing that she is going to be a little spit fire if her activity in the womb is anything to go by.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Clothes

Recently I purchased a washing line. It stands on a tripod outside and I can take it down whenever I am not using it. I wanted to try and reduce the amount of energy we use in the house and also I remembered that I always loved the smell of laundry dried outside. It has a scent that no matter what softener you use. I have found that since drying my washing outside two things have happened. 1) Laundry is no longer as stressful as I once found it and 2) it allows me and my son to spend some time together and he gets to help. The less stressful comes as something as a surprise to me. However since I am now hanging it outside I am doing laundry over a few days rather than one day and as I take the laundry down I fold and sort as I go along which means at the end of the processes all I have to do is put it away. I have washed diapers, new baby clothes, bedding and everything else and the dryer has sat empty for 2 weeks. I know that come the winter I will once again use the dryer when the weather is bad or it is too cold to be hanging stuff out. But for now I will enjoy this small pleasure. I also enjoy getting my son to help out., He helps gets me the pegs and passes them to me or takes them back and it often results in him playing outside for a while afterwards. I hope that I am still able to continue this once my little girl arrives. I want to take the moment to enjoy the little things in life and that includes laundry whenever possible.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A two year review!

For the last two years I have been working mother. I have had to juggle my new career of teaching a long with motherhood. Making decisions between spending time with my son to making sure I have clean washing and food on the table has been hard. I now have the opportunity to stay at home for a year with this little girl and my boy. I am left wondering how this year will go. No longer do I have to worry about lesson planning but now I have to worry about diapers and other such things.

My last two years of teaching has taught me a lot about myself and also kids. The need to be accepted, be challenged and acknowledge for what they have and can achieve.  I have realised that I can try and to be perfect and fall under a heap of horror or I can try my best and pray that it will be ok. I have learned to rely on God and know that whatever happens it is his plan. Just as it was God's plan I went back to work at the time I did and got my teaching certificate, it is also God's plan that I now stay home with my little girl and my son. God's plan beyond that, well only God knows and I am ok with that. For now I want to enjoy the summer , met my little girl and spend some much needed quality time with my kids.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Graduation!

As the last few days of school tick by one of the final jobs of the year was to go to graduation. Being from England this is something that I am not used to as we don't graduate from High School. As I watched some of my students walk across the stage I wonder what they are thinking, where they will go, and do they really realise what this means? Many of my students have already experienced aspects of life I will never experience. Many of them have overcome trials I can't even begin to comprehend. But as they walk across that stage they are really setting off on their own. There is no teacher who will call home to ask why they aren't in class or they are failing if they don't do the work. There are no second chances when you fail and need to retake that course again. They are out in a world where they will fail college classes and lose their money, get fired from that job and run out of money when they can't get another. The strange thing is I will never know there successes or their failures, I really am sending them off. If I am lucky they will remember me as that teacher that taught them some Math and hopefully they also know I cared. I pray that they do well and that in some way I have been a positive aspect in their life.