Time to get down !

Time to get down!



So , at the beginning of the year I thought it a great idea to explore the world of opportunities there are out there regarding 'kids clubs'. Having children and living in London , it's a fact that you can't just open your front door and let your child out and they'll be safe. I'm not talking about in the garden or in the block , I mean actually out of your area. 

Being originally from Yorkshire , I have been blessed with the ability to grow up in complete suburbia. I'm talking running through green fields, horse riding, fresh apples from the local apple orchard, growing food at the allotment, everybody knows your name, playing in the river and completely surrounded my nature.

Of course I completely took it for granted and used to spend my time wondering what was over those big hills, as far as the eye could see? 
Well some years later , my curiosity was satisfied and I found out . I have learnt of course that the grass isn't always greener because grass is grass wherever you go. But there will never be nowhere like home ....

Especially when you go back to visit and you sit and watch in horror as your child points out cows , sheep and horses as if they were in fact aliens from another planet . 

The great thing about London though, is that you really can find lots to do and every type of children's class where even the most rarest of children can be entertained.

 From kumon to Karate and from Zumba to the zoo. 

You can even checkout your local school' summer fair  Literally anything you like. 

      

Even though I teach Move It Kids! Sessions myself (dance, drama and Pilates for kids), my little one is so over me teaching her. Whoever said don't work with kids and animals got it wrong. It should actually be 'never bring your child to work'.

And so Like a kid in a candy shop, I jumped right in and within about a couple of weeks had tried every taster session going . The problem was - my 5 year old loved them all. 

So after about several months of daily 'stimulation' it started to dawn on me that my daughter didn't really want to do half of them .It was also evident that the ones she enjoyed we're the ones with her friends in or that involved playing games (understandably, she is 5 years old)

I came to my senses at the end of last term and dropped those classes at the drop of a hat . 

When I went to collect my little one after school, she looked at me with fear and trepidation and asked 'What do we have now mummy ??'. With a big smile I said - nothing and she honestly gave a tiny sigh of relief, followed quickly by a 'can we go to the park ?'
So off we went and for almost 2 hours of fun . We had the best down time we had had in ages.I realised as I relaxed on a bench watching her run and play with her friends, it might not be a scene out of the Walton's, but home is where the heart is. 

We can fill our children with activities and unfortunately over stimulate them when the reality is that mostly, after a long day at school/nursery, they are content just hanging out with us . 

Kids have 'Off days' too!

So,  this is what they mean by April showers .. O.k , we get the picture now you can stop . I have spent the last three days toying around with a cold . I say 'toying' because all it seems to be doing is playing with me . One day it wants to make my nose run , the next it's the shivers and today it's the sneezes. I have had enough now and it's making me just plain grumpy!
Even my poor husband has been at the mercy of my head cold ( you see,now I'm even giving it a name). Last night we were having an innocent conversation about who should do the washing up when suddenly, out of nowhere came this urge to knock over the  gravy boat.

Even when I have been teaching I have witnessed similar goings on with the children . This weather really doesn't do much for the feel good factor. The children too have been a little 'not with it ' either. I feel your pain kids.

 The truth is that as parents, we are inundated with all of these new, tried and tested, state of the art devices or proven tests dictating what our child supposedly needs. What can start out as a small thought i.e perhaps he/she is unwell ?,can easily turn into a full blown 'mother knows best' diagnosis of a full on illness. We seem to forget those moments in our own lives,  when nothing seems to work out. Everything you do that day is just too much to manage and you just want to go back to bed but you cannot. Well can you imagine experiencing that and being 2?

I mean maybe it's the weather, maybe they got out of bed on the wrong side in the morning or maybe today they just don't want to play ?  But sometimes , and just sometimes there is absolutely nothing to worry about. You will just be wasting the doctors time if you go for a checkup with your little person. Leave the Calpol alone and stop checking their temperature already . The next time you find yourself feeling a little flat and under the weather, just remember how your little one may feel at times. 

Because let's be honest, kids have off days too!

great start to 2012

Happy New Year!!!!!!
erm...am i late?

Eat.Pray .Love

I have just watched a little of the movie Eat.Pray.Love with Julia Roberts. It seems that she..

goes on an adventure of self discovery and ultimately achieves her goal. Good for her is what i say and for all those people ,myself included who have had a similar experience.
I have learnt though, that it doesn't really matter where you go. You will be the same person deep down you always were only now it will be have been confirmed for you. Changes will undoubtedly happen in our lives directly and indirectly. Some for better or for worse ( a bit like marriage ) . How we deal with change is really the crucial part.

When i was younger , i hated change. I did not like the ground being pulled from beneath me at all. In fact, it used to scare me. When my friend got married or a relative moved away i did not like it. Even at the end of a stage in my life , for example university or at the end of a work contract, there was always this feeling of 'what now'? It was like i had just gotten used to a certain way of life and now to change it seemed strange somehow.

                                        

I don't bother with my horoscope but once read that taureans hate change and being a taurean , that struck a chord with me. From that day on, i decided to embrace change in my life.
Since then, there has been a difference in my mind set and  i now know that change is good!
It's the way of the world that nothing stays the same. Everything adapts and grows somehow.

This time of year is all about new beginnings in some way or another and if like i had, you have a fear of change.. Then this is the perfect time to face your fear!
Whatever it is that lays itself in front of you . Whatever you need to do in order to move forward for the better , don't let nothing or no one stop you ! Go for it
Grab September by the you know whats, and lets bring it on.

 There is nothing more redundant than the emotion of fear. It is a complete waste of time . There are however times when fear is good of course ,but when discussing moving forward in a positive and healthy way, it's unnecessary. In my opinion it is definitely over rated and there is something else that you can be doing instead. That is get busy embracing change in your life, use it as a stepping stone to propel you forward into better situations and at least be in with a chance of achieving your very own adventure of self discovery..sounds like fun doesn't it?

inner strength

There comes a time in all our lives when we require something else to take over. It could be a split moment or a prolonged time process, either way , it happens. It's that moment when everything around you seems to just fall through your fingers. The food doesnt taste right, the mirror image doesnt give the desired effect and the rain just never stops raining!

Usually when this feeling comes it's natural to role with it, let it really gain momentum so that something naff really does happen, something that just doesnt exist in your mind. I am ashamed to say that sometimes i even enjoy the feeling of a temporaray downward spiral, at least you know where your at with a downward spiral .
 But no, the moment i am specifically talking about is those special times , though very rare, when something else takes over. A feeling ...a "dont worry because everything is gonna be ok " feeling. It comes from within you . Through the void comes a refreshing , light ,heady feeling.
A feeling of peace and calm even though your in a storm. Even when everything else around you looks like a scene out of Eastenders ( dodgy acting inclusive)

This feeling lets me know that everything really is going to be ok. When it all looks a little like the shape of a pear, but your smiling on the inside. When the storm stops and you realise that your hardly even wet ..and when (and this is the best bit) you slowly lok upwards into the sky and out comes this beautiful rainbow ,sparkling bright happy colours before your very eyes....

That's when i know....

that God is watching over me

multi tasking

so...,here i am looking at my 4 year old girl and entertaining her while writing this and simultaneously making food. I am also talking to my sister while also researching housing options for her on the Internet.
Are women really the only sex that can multi task?

My Husband argues that point stating that men can multi task with the best of them. I have to say that i have seen him in his multi tasking glory , fully capable of sending e mails , selling over the phone and then remembering in great detail which part of the conversation we got to .

Whatever the answer , i find it amazing how our lives are consumed with cramming as much activity in as we can. Whether we are trying to make money with our own business or doing over time at work or trying to kill ourselves with keeping up with the every day paperwork or keeping the laundry going.
you know what i always wonder..wheat would actually happen if we just stopped?

Would we drop all of our balls..would the treadmill of life keep chugging along anyway? and where are we actually in a rush to get to anyway? I have a belief that people who allow themselves to be ridiculously busy, are in actual fact in denial. They are trying to avoid having to think at all. Some people  keep themselves occupied because they know that if they stop, they will have to deal with the reality of their lives.
Not everyone of course . Some people i know have all the time in the world, aint going no where and are completely happy about that ...
sigh ...ignorance is bliss

blog city!

May this be the beginning of what will hopfully be a beautiful relationship with me, my apple mac n the res t of the world. May it be emotional, crazy and a little too much but all in good taste of course. An opportunity for me to talk as much as i want and get off my chest what i need to.. kinda like therapy..
Watch this space !