Be kind to yourself



 Image by Nina Matthews Photography - from flickr

 Lately I feel as though I've been running on empty. I'm feeling drained, emotional and a little overwhelmed.

Not a good start for the new year.

I think my main problem is trying to do too many things at once, and in my quest to do them all perfectly, I end up doing all of them not very well and disliking myself for it.

Take today for instance. After nearly two days of not leaving the house, the better half and I decided to take the children out for the afternoon. Midway through the journey a thick fog of tiredness descended over me. I felt totally exhausted, probably the culmination of a teething six month old (he cut his first tooth yesterday - yay for baby!) and too many late nights blogging........

We drove around for a bit then the better half suggested going for a walk in the woods. At that precise moment in time I couldn't think of anything worse. It was freezing outside, the baby was sleeping contently and there was no way I was fumbling with the car seat to take him out, then faffing with the buggy, especially since sleeping hasn't been part of his repertoire of late. To be honest every task felt like too much.

The girls were beaming at me with 100 watt smiles. I felt horrible for letting them down, they were desperate for me to join them out into the crisp winter air. Hmmm what was I saying about doing more fun things with my children? Probably should have added in summer.....hahaa.
Needless to say the better half took them out to the woods on his own and they got a much needed run about. I stayed in the car with the baby and got a much needed power nap. Everyone's a winner.

I think today's episode has proved that I can't be superwoman, if I'm not up to doing something it's best for me to take time out to recuperate rather than beating myself up about it and turning into a snappy, crabby, blubber baby. After all it's true what they say; happy mummy equals happy family. Lol.

I suppose all we can really do is our best and learn to be kind to ourselves and of course one another.

Happy New Year! It's 2012!

Well we are here. 2012. A time for new beginnings.

(I'm loving this photo by *Sally M*. I found it on flickr.)

This year I am setting myself some clear goals. No dilly-dallying. 2012 is the time for doing.

My goals for this year:
1) Get fit. More healthy eating, less junk food and much, much more exercise.

2) Christen our son.

3) Get my children enrolled in swimming lessons.

4) Organise finances. With three children a savings strategy of some description is a must.

5) Establish a way to make money by working from home.

6) Do more fun/silly things with my children on a daily basis.

7) Spend a lot more time with extended family and friends.

8) A family holiday to Barbados. My dad is from this beautiful country and I love it there, (wishful thinking but needs to be done). We haven't been on holiday in forever. Aim high I say.

9) Work out how to credit photos properly on blogger, sounds simple but I'm having issues and it's bugging me (any help will be much obliged).

10) Build my blog and meet more inspirational people through the world of blogging.

That's a nice list to be getting on with I think. Certainly doable. Bring it on.

What do you want to achieve in 2012?