Happy New Year! We are now back home after a week of being here, there and everywhere. We enjoyed our time away but I must admit it is nice to be home – the heating is back on, we’ve unpacked, lit some candles and are planning on watching a film. We never get enough sleep when we’re staying elsewhere so we can both get a bit ratty – although the past few days we’ve ended up having much needed family naps in the afternoon. Priceless.
We have had a really lovely Christmas this year for a variety of reasons:
- now that Jared is self employed it means he can be around more and our lives are generally a lot more flexible. It makes Christmas arrangements much simpler.
- Winston was so much more involved in his present opening. He could easily rip open the presents and was so good at appreciating them – probably because the general theme was trains, jigsaws and helicopters. All sure winners. We watched him open his presents first which was such a change from last year – a banana was much more interesting last year for some reason.
- my Mum decided to serve Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve followed by our yearly family music concert. It meant that Christmas Day was spent playing games and minimal food prep. A new tradition we will be keeping.
- I received so many wonderful gifts and hugely enjoyed the competition that occurs whilst we’re opening our presents regarding who managed the best bargain. My Mum concluded that she won with a massively reduced pair of beautiful leather shoes for Jared from House of Fraser – a steal at £15. My Mum said she only spent half a day purposely Christmas shopping for all 23 of us – the rest was opportunist or handmade. Brilliant!
- my Dad has started a new tradition where we go on a steam train a couple of days after Christmas. Something that reminds me of my childhood, keeps the little ones entertained and means that the adults can have a nice long chat. My favourite thing about steam trains – other than the smell – is that you are never going anywhere important or in a rush, which means you can completely relax and enjoy.
- I watched “It’s A Wonderful Life” with just my Mum, in peace – both of which are miraculous. It might seem normal to watch a film alone with your Mum but it is something that doesn’t happen very often when you’re one of eleven!
- I got to spend time with friends I don’t see very often.
- Winston played with his cousins lots and is really starting to interact. He’s been able to get to know his aunts and uncles much better too.
- I unexpectedly went sales shopping and didn’t buy anything – which is unheard of…eBay is the only way these days.
- I scored a car seat and our double buggy on eBay. Better late than never.
I haven’t thought too much about what I want to achieve in 2014. I have a few things in mind but I’m going to leave proper goal setting until after the baby arrives – as I’m sure he will disrupt any plans I make anyway! One sure thing is that the three of us need a bit of a health kick after eating lots of cheese, bread and chocolate over the past few weeks. I am feeling pretty bloated and low in energy – serves me right!
I’m now firmly two days overdue. I’m feeling much more relaxed about the birth now we’re home and have finally started listening to hypnobirthing on my iPod. The midwife will be coming to the house on Friday to see how I’m getting on. We’ve agreed with the midwife that we won’t be discussing any form of induction until I’m 12 days overdue which hopefully won’t happen. I’m not an advocate of induction unless there’s a medical emergency, so I’ll be going about my normal business until he decides to make an appearance. We’re both getting really excited to meet him now!
E xx
